Reading a book with the past and future II
by Aurora Black94
Summary: Harry, his friends and family are back to read the second book about his life. How will his parents react to the chamber of secrets opening. Will they survive reading about their son's second year? OC included
1. The worst Birthday

**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Harry Potter JKR Does Everything In Bold Belongs To Her. I Only Own Aurora Black and Back Story. **

**Disclaimer II: To Read the first 'Reading the books with the past and future go to my other profile Phoenixgrl15. **

"Aurora wake up," Hermione called softly shaking Aurora's shoulder to get her up faster, a large cup of cold water in her other hand.

Aurora let out a tiered groan before moving to cover her head under her pillow. Hermione sighed she had thought the days of trying to get her best friend out of bed were over… 'oh well' Hermione thought with a sudden wicked grin, "I swear Rora, if you don't get up in the next five seconds I will dump this cold water over your head." When Aurora still didn't move Hermione started to count backwards from 5 in her head. 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…

"AAAHHHHH!" Aurora yelled jumping up from bed her wand in her hand her shirt completely soaked in water. Hermione couldn't help but laugh a little, she had always enjoyed waking up Aurora, in one way or another it always ended up being entertaining.

"Well you're up now, go get dressed and meet everyone else outside for breakfast, you slept the entire day away yesterday, and everybody can't wait to read the second book." Hermione said still smiling, she missed joking around with Aurora like this, ever since she found out that stress over everything that had happened put Aurora and her baby's life in danger she just didn't know how to act around her exactly; she didn't want to add to it by saying something wrong, or doing something to upset her. She may not be helping her, but it is always better to be safe than sorry.

"You know what; I don't quite think Ginny and Harry agree with you there." Aurora said still breathing hard from having cold water dumped on her… again. "_I _don't quite agree with you there."

"… True, but I don't think that's going to stop anyone from the past, especially your dad." Hermione said thoughtfully.

"Yeah I guess you're right, go on I'll be out in a minute… once I put on a dry shirt." Laughing again Hermione left her friend to changed barely dodging a pillow that was thrown at her.

Five minutes later Aurora was sitting next to Harry trying to avoid her mother eye after her break down the day before. While it may have felt nice at the time to let out all the tears she had been holding inside, she still felt a little ashamed to have broken down in front of someone she barely knew. Showing weakness could be dangerous that was something she learned a long time ago that in a very hard way.

"Do you think our parents will like this year better than last or not?" Harry asked while shooting a look over to their parents who were sitting together smiling and talking with their friends.

"Don't know, I mean you did almost die in both… but I'm pretty sure my dad is not going to enjoy this book at all." Aurora answered grimacing a little at the memory of what happened during her second year.

"Nope, he's going to kill Lucius Malfoy when he gets out of here." Harry said smiling a little at the thought, Aurora, seeing the look on her god brother's face, nudged him a little but not before rolling her eyes.

"He can't, if he does Draco will never be born." Aurora said giving Harry a much harder nudged at the thoughtful look he had.

Before Harry could say anything in his defense Alice called out, "Is everybody done eating so we can begin reading the second book?"

"Yes." Everybody but Sirius and Ron answered in reply.

"Well seeing as you both are bottomless pits, your answer doesn't count." Aurora smirked at them moving to sit on Harry left side while Ginny sat at his right. Both Neville and Luna moved to sit on a love seat along with Hermione and Ron sitting on the one besides them, Sitting in the three love seats across from them were Sirius and Marlene in the center, James and Lily to their right, and Frank and Alice to their left, leaving Regulus and Severus to take the two arm chairs.

"So should we keep it to the same order as before?" Ginny asked a little nervously not at all eager to begin reading about one of the worst moments in her life.

"Yes I think so." Regulus said moving to pass the book to Remus.

"Well then let's get started then." James said clapping his hands together and grinning like a fool.

Smiling at his friend's behavior Remus opened the book to the first chapter frowning when he read the title,** "The Worst Birthday" **

"Oh you have got to be kidding me." Lily sighed covering her face with her hands. James cheerful smiled had already fallen from his face as he wrapped his arm around his future wife.

"So that would be a 'no' on the whole liking this book better thing." Aurora whispered to Harry who was looking at his parents worryingly.

**Not for the first time, an argument had broken out over breakfast at number four, Privet Drive. Mr. Vernon Dursley had been woken in the early hours of the morning by a loud, hooting noise from his nephew Harry's room.**

"**Third time this week!" he roared across the table. "If you can't control that owl, it'll have to go!"**

"That whale is trying to get rid of Hedwig?" Ginny asked outraged. She had always loved that owl; she knew Harry had been devastated when she had died.

"Stupid, bloody, fat, ugly, no good, jackass." James grumbled under his breath tightening his hold on lily without noticing.

**Harry tried, yet again, to explain. **"**She's bored," he said. "She's used to flying around outside. If I could just let her out at night -"**

"**Do I look stupid?" snarled Uncle Vernon, a bit of fried egg dangling from his bushy moustache.**

"Yes." The entire room said together including even Severus.

**"I know what'll happen if that owl's let out."**

**He exchanged dark looks with his wife, Petunia.**

**Harry tried to argue back but his words were drowned by a long, loud belch from the Dursleys' son, Dudley.**

All the girls (and even some of the guys) grimaced in disgust at the mention of the young Dursley.

"**I want more bacon."**

"Cannibal." Sirius mumbled glaring at the book.

"**There's more in the frying pan, sweetums," said Aunt Petunia, turning misty eyes on her massive son. "We must build you up while we've got the chance… I don't like the sound of that school food…"**

"I'm sorry but did that woman say she needed to build him _up_?" Alice asked shocked, "Does she not see that her son is two bacon strips away from a heart attack?"

"Petunia was always blind to what she didn't want to see." Lily answered her friend her eyes narrowed at the very thought of her sister; while she may miss the way they were when they were younger, Lily no longer had any wish to reconcile with her, not after the way she treated her son after her death.

**"Nonsense, Petunia, I never went hungry when I was at Smeltings," said Uncle Vernon heartily. "Dudley gets enough, don't you, son?"**

**Dudley, who was so large his bottom drooped over either side of the kitchen chair, grinned and turned to Harry.**

"**Pass the frying pan."**

"**You've forgotten the magic word," said Harry irritably.**

"Why do I get the idea that that was the wrong thing to say?" Sirius asked rhetorically, not that that stopped Severus from answering him.

"Maybe because he is in a house that hates anything that has to do with magic, I would think even you could figure that out Black seeing as your family is the same only with Muggles instead of Wizards."

Sirius didn't respond, but he did start glaring at Severus in such a way that he reminded Harry, Aurora, Ron, and Hermione of the man they met for the first time in the shrieking shack. Surprisingly it was Regulus who answered his friend.

"Don't speak of things you don't know about Sev, it only serves to make you look foolish." While Regulus's voice was calm there was a hard undertone to it that made Severus regret ever opening his mouth. After a rather tense pause Remus went back to reading from the book that was sure to cause even more tense moments for everybody.

**The effect of this simple sentence on the rest of the family was incredible: Dudley gasped and fell off his chair with a crash that shook the whole kitchen; Mrs. Dursley gave a small scream and clapped her hands to her mouth; Mr. Dursley jumped to his feet, veins throbbing in his temples.**

"**I meant 'please'!" said Harry quickly. "I didn't mean —"**

"**WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU," thundered his uncle, spraying spit over the table, "ABOUTSAYING THE 'M' WORD IN OUR HOUSE?"**

"**But I —"**

**"HOW DARE YOU THREATEN DUDLEY!" roared Uncle Vernon, pounding the table with his fist.**

"**I just —"**

"**I WARNED YOU! I WILL NOT TOLERATE MENTION OF YOUR ABNORMALITY UNDER THIS ROOF!"**

"Unbelievable." Marlene whispered in shock her nose wrinkling a bit, "All that for one sentence, takes overreacting to a whole new level."

Sirius couldn't help but smile fondly at his girlfriend, that little nose wrinkle was just so damn cute. Aurora smiled softly at her parents; it was funny to her how one minute one of them would be upset and the next the other would make their partner laugh. Life really was cruel to take one from the other.

**Harry stared from his purple-faced uncle to his pale aunt, who was trying to heave Dudley to his feet.**

"**All right," said Harry, "all right…"**

**Uncle Vernon sat back down, breathing like a winded rhinoceros and watching Harry closely out of the corners of his small, sharp eyes.**

**Ever since Harry had come home for the summer holidays, Uncle Vernon had been treating him like a bomb that might go off at any moment, because Harry Potter wasn't a normal boy. As a matter of fact, he was as not normal as it is possible to be.**

"If everyone was normal, no one would be special." Luna said dreamily making her friends smile at her and the people from the past wonder how someone so… strange could be so insightful at times.

"That may be true Luna, but not everyone sees that I'm afraid." Said Harry to his unusual friend.

"That's so sad." She mumbled to herself before focusing her eyes on Remus and the book.

**Harry Potter was a wizard**— **a wizard fresh from his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And if the Dursleys were unhappy to have him back for the holidays, it was nothing to how Harry felt.**

**He missed Hogwarts so much it was like having a constant stomachache.**

Severus frowned; he couldn't help but relate to how the boy felt. After all he himself had always dreaded going home after the school year. Unknowingly to Severus Sirius was thinking along the same lines.

**He missed the castle, with its secret passageways and ghosts, his classes (though perhaps not Snape, the Potions master),**

And there goes any positive feeling he had towards the boy, "I'm sure the feelings mutual." He couldn't help but sneer. Harry laughed a little, he would never admit it but he missed the snarky git at times.

**the mail arriving by owl, eating banquets in the Great Hall, sleeping in his four-poster bed in the tower dormitory, visiting the gamekeeper, Hagrid, in his cabin next to the Forbidden Forest in the grounds, and, especially, Quidditch, the most popular sport in the wizarding world (six tall goal posts, four flying balls, and fourteen players on broomsticks).**

"In other words the best sport in the world." James grinned trying to be cheerful for Lily's sake, but it was hard with a chapter title like 'The worst birthday'.

**All Harry's spellbooks, his wand, robes, cauldron, and top-of-the-line Nimbus Two Thousand broomstick had been locked in a cupboard under the stairs by Uncle Vernon the instant Harry had come home. **

Lily couldn't help the little pained moan that escaped her. Her son didn't deserve this, he was just a little boy and he already had to face so much more than any adult had too. She just couldn't understand how everything could go so wrong… every dream, all the plans she had made, all of it was for nothing.

**What did the Dursleys care if Harry lost his place on the House Quidditch team because he hadn't practiced all summer? **

"Oliver would never let that happen, mate," Ron grinned remembering the Quidditch obsessed teen he had met all those years ago. Harry laughed nodding his head in agreement, he couldn't wait to see how his parents would response to the 'or die trying' comment.

**What was it to the Dursleys if Harry went back to school without any of his homework done? The Dursleys were what wizards called Muggles (not a drop of magical blood in their veins), and as far as they were concerned, having a wizard in the family was a matter of deepest shame.**

"Funny how they seem to act like pure blood wizards act when a Squib is born to their family." Luna said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, my uncle treated me like that for a time." Neville said quietly so his parents wouldn't hear him.

**Harry looked nothing like the rest of the family.**

"Thank Merlin for that." Ginny giggled making Harry glare at her.

**Uncle Vernon was large and neckless, with an enormous black moustache; Aunt Petunia was horse-faced and bony; Dudley was blond, pink, and porky. Harry, on the other hand, was small and skinny, with brilliant green eyes and jet-black hair that was always untidy. He wore round glasses, and on his forehead was a thin, lightning-shaped scar. It was this scar that made Harry so particularly unusual, even for a wizard. This scar was the only hint of Harry's very mysterious past, **

Lily sighed sadly, "Do we really have to hear about this?"

**of the reason he had been left on the Dursleys' doorstep eleven years before.**

**At the age of one year old, Harry had somehow survived a curse from the greatest Dark sorcerer of all time,** **Lord Voldemort,** **whose name most witches and wizards still feared to speak. Harry's parents had died in Voldemort's attack, but Harry had escaped with his lightning scar, and somehow — nobody understood why —Voldemort's powers had been destroyed the instant he had failed to kill Harry. **

**So Harry had been brought up by his dead mother's sister and her husband. He had spent ten years with the Dursleys, never understanding why he kept making odd things happen without meaning to, believing the Dursleys' story that he had got his scar in the car crash that had killed his parents.**

Lily and James grimaced and closed their eyes tightly as their friends watched them worriedly.

**And then, exactly a year ago, Hogwarts had written to Harry, and the whole story had come out. Harry had taken up his place at wizard school, where he and his scar were famous… but now the school year was over, and he was back with the Dursleys for the summer, back to being treated like a dog that had rolled in something smelly.**

**The Dursleys hadn't even remembered that today happened to be Harry's twelfth birthday.**

"I wish it would have stayed that way." Harry sighed

"I don't like the sound of that." Frank said shaking his head.

"Yeah, well you shouldn't." Was the only response he received.

**Of course, his hopes hadn't been high; they'd never given him a real present, let alone a cake — but to ignore it completely…**

**At that moment, Uncle Vernon cleared his throat importantly and said, "Now, as we all know, today is a very important day."**

"No way." Regulus whispered unbelievably.

"I wouldn't get your hopes up Reg… there's no way that pig would care." Sirius snarled bitterly.

"Sirius you shouldn't think so badly about everybody, sometimes people surprise you." Alice reprimand gently.

"Sometimes… and sometimes they don't."

**Harry looked up, hardly daring to believe it.**

"**This could well be the day I make the biggest deal of my career," said Uncle Vernon.**

"Told you so."

"Be quiet Sirius." Marlene said sternly watching one of her best friends try to hold back tears.

**Harry went back to his toast. Of course, he thought bitterly, Uncle Vernon was talking about the stupid dinner party. He'd been talking of nothing else for two weeks. Some rich builder and his wife were coming to dinner and Uncle Vernon was hoping to get a huge order from him (Uncle Vernon's company made drills).**

"**I think we should run through the schedule one more time," said Uncle Vernon. **

"They plan their night?" Neville laughed.

"Trust me that is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to their… 'normalness'." Harry grinned before laughing along with all his friends.

When Aurora noticed how everybody from the past was watching them with raised eyebrows. "Lighten up guys; there is nothing you can do at the moment so just… relax and don't panic over everything that is said."

"Easy for you to say." Sirius said rolling his eyes and scoffing at his daughter.

Harry turned to stare at his god sister highly amused. "What? Maybe if we say enough they will listen." Aurora murmured hopefully.

"Not bloody likely." Harry laughed.

**"We should all be in position at eight o'clock. Petunia, you will be —?"**

"**In the lounge," said Aunt Petunia promptly, "waiting to welcome them graciously to our home."**

"**Good, good. And Dudley?"**

"**I'll be waiting to open the door." Dudley put on a foul, simpering smile. "May I take your coats, Mr. and Mrs. Mason?"**

"I would turn around and leave right then and there." Ron scoffed amusedly.

"**They'll love him!" cried Aunt Petunia rapturously.**

Everybody smiled, slight chuckles coming from a few.

"**Excellent, Dudley," said Uncle Vernon. Then he rounded on Harry. "And you?"**

"**I'll be in my bedroom, making no noise and pretending I'm not there," said Harry tonelessly.**

That stopped all and any amusement that may have once been in the room.

"**Exactly," said Uncle Vernon nastily. "I will lead them into the lounge, introduce you, Petunia, and pour them drinks. At eight-fifteen —"**

"**I'll announce dinner," said Aunt Petunia.**

"**And, Dudley, you'll say —"**

"**May I take you through to the dining room, Mrs. Mason?" said Dudley, offering his fat arm to an invisible woman.**

Aurora rolled her eyes trying to hold her laughter in; somehow she didn't think the others would appreciate it.

"**My perfect little gentleman!" sniffed Aunt Petunia.**

**And you?" said Uncle Vernon viciously to Harry.**

"**I'll be in my room, making no noise and pretending I'm not there," said Harry dully.**

James and Lily glared at the book so hard it was a wonder it didn't start burning, and Sirius started to growl like the dog he sometimes was while Remus's eye's started to turn auburn.

"**Precisely. Now, we should aim to get in a few good compliments at dinner. Petunia, any ideas?"**

"**Vernon tells me you're a wonderful golfer, Mr. Mason… Do tell me where you bought your dress, Mrs. Mason…"**

"**Perfect… Dudley?"**

"**How about —'We had to write an essay about our hero at school, Mr. Mason, and I wrote about you.'"**

Aurora couldn't help it anymore, she burst out laughing. "I-I'm ssorry… I ccan't help it. I-it's just so stupid." Her friends started to laugh with her along with her uncle and father.

**This was too much for both Aunt Petunia and Harry. Aunt Petunia burst into tears and hugged her son, while Harry ducked under the table so they wouldn't see him laughing.**

"**And you, boy?"**

**Harry fought to keep his face straight as he emerged.**

"**I'll be in my room, making no noise and pretending I'm not there," he said.**

"Please tell me that was the last time." Lily moaned only feeling slightly relieved when Harry nodded.

"**Too right, you will." said Uncle Vernon forcefully. "The Masons don't know anything about you and it's going to stay that way. When dinner's over, you take Mrs. Mason back to the lounge for coffee, Petunia, and I'll bring the subject around to drills. With any luck, I'll have the deal signed and sealed before the news at ten. Be shopping for a vacation home in Majorca this time tomorrow."**

**Harry couldn't feel too excited about this. He didn't think the Dursleys would like him any better in Majorca than they did on Privet Drive.**

"If they bring you at all." Severus sneered.

"**Right — I'm off into town to pick up the dinner jackets for Dudley and me. And you," he snarled at Harry. "You stay out of your aunt's way while she's cleaning."**

**Harry left through the back door. It was a brilliant, sunny day. He crossed the lawn, slumped down on the garden bench, and sang under his breath:**

"**Happy birthday to me… happy birthday to me…"**

"That's so sad." Alice said softly feeling so sorry for the boy. Harry grimaced at the pitying looks he was getting from almost everybody but his closest friends.

**No cards, no presents, and he would be spending the evening pretending not to exist. He gazed miserably into the hedge. He had never felt so lonely. More than anything else at Hogwarts, more even than playing Quidditch, Harry missed his best friends, Ron Weasley, Aurora Black, and Hermione Granger.**

"Why aren't you three writing him!?" James said glaring at the three friends who started protesting loudly.

"We did!"

"I wrote him a million times!"

"Don't start yelling at us until you know the whole story!"

"What possible reason could you have for abandoning your friend?" Lily asked sternly.

"We didn't!" All three friends yelled together at the same time as Harry said calmly, "They didn't, guys calm down."

"Well I don't know about the other two, but Aurora is staying with the Malfoys and I'm sure they wouldn't let her send letters to the boy-who-lived, a muggle born, and a blood traitor." Regulus said, he didn't really care about Hermione and Ron, but he was starting to get annoyed with the way Potter was glaring at his niece.

"Hey!" Hermione and Ron shouted affronted while Aurora smirked at the two. Harry was in the meanwhile watching the entire scene tiredly, it was only the first chapter and already he was hating this book.

"James Lily, Harry doesn't look like he is angry or even blames them for anything, maybe we should wait to see why he hasn't gotten any letters." Marlene said trying to diffuse the situation, she could sense Sirius tensing for a fight and she didn't want him auguring with his best friend over something that may or may not be true. Lily and James huffed but motioned for Remus to keep reading.

**They, however, didn't seem to be missing him at all. None of them had written to him all summer, even though Ron had said he was going to ask Harry to come and stay.**

**Countless times, Harry had been on the point of unlocking Hedwig's cage by magic and sending her to Ron, Aurora, and Hermione with a letter, but it wasn't worth the risk. Underage wizards weren't allowed to use magic outside of school. Harry hadn't told the Dursleys this; he knew it was only their terror that he might turn them all into dung beetles that stopped them from locking him in the cupboard under the stairs with his wand and broomstick.**

James fisted his hand at the reminder of that blasted cupboard. Lily sighed and laid her head on her boyfriend's shoulder wishing they could get the part in the story where Harry was in Hogwarts and away from that wrenched family.

**For the first couple of weeks back, Harry had enjoyed muttering nonsense words under his breath and watching Dudley tearing out of the room as fast as his fat legs would carry him. But the long silence from Ron, Aurora, and Hermione had made Harry feel so cut off from the magical world that even taunting Dudley had lost its appeal — and now Ron, Aurora, and Hermione had forgotten his birthday.**

"We didn't forget… just keep reading it should explain." Aurora sighed rubbing her stomach gently trying not to cry from the glares she was getting. Sirius seeing how upset Aurora was couldn't hold back from saying, "Would stop glaring at my daughter, she already said she didn't forget."

**What wouldn't he give now for a message from Hogwarts? From any witch or wizard? He'd almost be glad of a sight of his archenemy, Draco Malfoy, just to be sure it hadn't all been a dream…**

That cheered Aurora up a little, "I am so telling Draco when we get out of here." She whispered to Harry who grinned happy to see the tears clearing up from her eyes. If Sirius hadn't said something when he did he would have snapped at his father, Harry had gotten a _little over_ protective since finding out Aurora was pregnant… but that could also have something to do with the fact that his sister in every way that mattered had almost died. Did die in fact.

**Not that his whole year at Hogwarts had been fun. At the very end of last term, Harry had come face-to-face with none other than Lord Voldemort himself. Voldemort might be a ruin of his former self, but he was still terrifying, still cunning, still determined to regain power. Harry had slipped through Voldemort's clutches for a second time, but it had been a narrow escape, and even now, weeks later, Harry kept waking in the night, drenched in cold sweat, wondering where Voldemort was now, remembering his livid face, his wide, mad eyes —**

**Harry suddenly sat bolt upright on the garden bench. He had been staring absent-mindedly into the hedge — and the hedge was staring back. Two enormous green eyes had appeared among the leaves.**

"What?! What's there?" Lily asked sitting up right.

"Nothing dangerous mom, it's fine." Harry said smiling gently.

Ron couldn't but snort at that, "I think that is a matter of opinion."

"Please don't." Hermione whispered closing her to try and block out the flash backs; she didn't want to remember that day; it took all her energy to keep her had from going to her scared arm. Ron knowing what she was thinking about wrapped his arm around her trying to comfort her as best he could.

**Harry jumped to his feet just as a jeering voice floated across the lawn.**

"**I know what day it is," sang Dudley, waddling toward him.**

**The huge eyes blinked and vanished.**

"**What?" said Harry, not taking his eyes off the spot where they had been.**

"**I know what day it is," Dudley repeated, coming right up to him.**

"Good for him, he knows the days of the week. I'm sure that's a huge accomplishment for him." Ginny scoffed rolling her eyes not seeing the amused smile Harry was giving her.

"**Well done," said Harry. "So you've finally learned the days of the week."**

Ginny blushed and she gave Harry a small kiss on the cheek whispering 'I love you' in his ear before leaning into him to listen to the rest of the chapter.

"**Today's your birthday," sneered Dudley. "How come you haven't got any cards? Haven't you even got friends at that freak place?"**

"Yes he does!" Ron, Aurora, Hermione, Neville, Luna, and Ginny yelled together making Harry laughed.

"I know guys, relax."

"**Better not let your mum hear you talking about my school," said Harry coolly.**

**Dudley hitched up his trousers, which were slipping down his fat bottom.**

"**Why're you staring at the hedge?" he said suspiciously.**

"**I'm trying to decide what would be the best spell to set it on fire," said Harry.**

**Dudley stumbled backward at once, a look of panic on his fat face.** "**You c-can't — Dad told you you're not to do m-magic — he said he'll chuck you out of the house — and you haven't got anywhere else to go — you haven't got any friends to take you —"**

**"Jiggery pokery!" said Harry in a fierce voice. "Hocus pocus — squiggly wiggly —"**

Even James, who was still upset about Harry not getting any mail from his friends, couldn't help but chuckle a little at his son actions. He would have done the same thing, only he may have used actual magic.

"**MUUUUUUM!" howled Dudley, tripping over his feet as he dashed back toward the house. "MUUUUM! He's doing you know what!"**

**Harry paid dearly for his moment of fun. As neither Dudley nor the hedge was in any way hurt, Aunt Petunia knew he hadn't really done magic, but he still had to duck as she aimed a heavy blow at his head with the soapy frying pan.**

Lily stopped giggling and started to glare fiercely at the book, "She did what." She said in a deadly voice.

"It missed if it makes you feel any better." Harry said a little surprised at the look on his mother's face.

"It doesn't." Lily hissed.

**Then she gave him work to do, with the promise he wouldn't eat again until he'd finished.**

**While Dudley lolled around watching and eating ice cream, Harry cleaned the windows, washed the car, mowed the lawn, trimmed the flowerbeds, pruned and watered the roses, and repainted the garden bench.**

"All that work for a twelve year old boy." Frank said shaking his head in disbelief. He couldn't understand how someone could treat their family so harshly, his mother may be strict, but she would never treat anybody in her family like that.

**The sun blazed overhead, burning the back of his neck. Harry knew he shouldn't have risen to Dudley's bait, but Dudley had said the very thing Harry had been thinking himself… maybe he didn't have any friends at Hogwarts…**

"Oh Harry," Hermione whimpered, she should have tried harder to get her letters to Harry, somehow.

**Wish they could see famous Harry Potter now, he thought savagely as he spread manure on the flower beds, his back aching, sweat running down his face.**

**It was half past seven in the evening when at last, exhausted, he heard Aunt Petunia calling him.**

"**Get in here! And walk on the newspaper!"**

**Harry moved gladly into the shade of the gleaming kitchen. On top of the fridge stood tonight's pudding: a huge mound of whipped cream and sugared violets. A loin of roast pork was sizzling in the oven.**

"Trust me it's not as good as it sounds, Petunia can't cook to save her life." Lily snarled viciously.

"Wow Lily… you have spent way too much time with Snape." Marlene said a little amused and a little scared. Severus on the other hand was smiling trying to hold in his laugh as was surprisingly James.

**"Eat quickly! The Masons will be here soon!" snapped Aunt Petunia, pointing to two slices of bread and a lump of cheese on the kitchen table.**

"That's not a meal." Ron grumbled crossly.

**She was already wearing a salmon-pink cocktail dress.**

"Eww." Aurora and Ginny gagged.

**Harry washed his hands and bolted down his pitiful supper. The moment he had finished, Aunt Petunia whisked away his plate. "Upstairs! Hurry!"**

**As he passed the door to the living room, Harry caught a glimpse of Uncle Vernon and Dudley in bow ties and dinner jackets. He had only just reached the upstairs landing when the door bell rang and Uncle Vernon's furious face appeared at the foot of the stairs.**

"**Remember, boy — one sound —"**

**Harry crossed to his bedroom on tiptoe slipped inside, closed the door, and turned to collapse on his bed. The trouble was, there was already someone sitting on it.**

"Who?" Everyone who didn't already know the answer asked, so basically everyone from the past.

"Give the book to Luna and I'm sure you will find out." Harry said trying to appear aloof.

"You're mean." Sirius pouted.

"Is everyone ready?" Luna asked turning the page of the book to the next chapter.

"Yes."

"I want chocolate." Aurora said thoughtfully.

**Please Review And Merry Christmas!**


	2. Dobby's Warning

**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Harry Potter JKR Does Everything In Bold Belongs To Her. I Only Own Aurora Black and Her Story.**

**"Dobby's Warning." **Luna read pausing only for a moment in remembrance of the brave house-elf that died for his friends.

**Harry managed not to shout out, but it was a close thing. The little creature on the bed had large, bat-like ears and bulging green eyes the size of tennis balls. **

"A house-elf then, what is he doing there?" Frank asked confusion clouding his voice.

Harry hesitated for a moment before whispering so quietly that only Ginny and Aurora could hear him, "Being a good friend."

**Harry knew instantly that this was what had been watching him out of the garden hedge that morning.**

**As they stared at each other, Harry heard Dudley's voice from the hall.**

"**May I take your coats, Mr. and Mrs. Mason?"**

"They are actually going through with it." Severus said shaking his head in disbelief.

"Why are you surprise? They don't have enough imagination to come up with anything on the spot." Regulus said with a smirk.

**The creature slipped off the bed and bowed so low that the end of its long, thin nose touched the carpet. Harry noticed that it was wearing what looked like an old pillowcase, with rips for arm- and leg-holes.**

Aurora's hand witch was half way to her mouth to finish the last of the chocolate Remus had given her, stopped before letting her hand fall to her side. She missed Dobby, he had been her first friend in the Malfoy house, always kind to her and making her laugh. She would have let him free when she was eleven, but since she wasn't a Malfoy so she didn't have the power too.

"**Er — hello," said Harry nervously.**

"**Harry Potter!" said the creature in a high-pitched voice Harry was sure would carry down the stairs. "So long has Dobby wanted to meet you, sir… Such an honor it is…"**

"**Th-thank you," said Harry, edging along the wall and sinking into his desk chair, next to Hedwig, who was asleep in her large cage. He wanted to ask, "What are you?" but thought it would sound too rude, so instead he said, "Who are you?"**

Hermione smiled brightly at Harry glad he was so kind to the little guy.

"**Dobby, sir. Just Dobby. Dobby the house-elf," said the creature. **

"Well that answers both questions." Sirius grinned not seeing how upset the ones from the future were.

"**Oh — really?" said Harry. "Er — I don't want to be rude or anything, but — this isn't a great time for me to have a house-elf in my bedroom."**

"Yeah, so get out." James said a little rudely afraid the elf would get Harry into trouble. He shrank back a little when Harry, Ron, Aurora, Hermione, and Luna glared at him fiercely. "Sorry."

**Aunt Petunias high, false laugh sounded from the living room. The elf hung his head.**

"**Not that I'm not pleased to meet you," said Harry quickly, "but, er, is there any particular reason you're here?"**

"**Oh, yes, sir," said Dobby earnestly. "Dobby has come to tell you, sir… it is difficult, sir… Dobby wonders where to begin…"**

"The beginning would be good." Regulus muttered to himself.

"**Sit down," said Harry politely, pointing at the bed.**

"Judging from his appearance, I'm guessing that was not a good move." Sirius sighed leaning back into the couch he was sitting on.

"Poor thing, my family would never have treated our house-elves like that. I feel so bad for him." Marlene said softly so no one else would hear.

"I know darling, but your family loves your elves." Sirius whispered to her in a teasing voice while thinking back to elves that serve Marlene's family; he had never seen house-elves so devoted before, not even the Potter family elves are like that. Marlene rolled her eyes and jabbed him in his side, so her family elves were loyal that wasn't a bad thing. At least they would be there for Aurora when she needed them, especially now that she had a baby on the way, the elves would help her out a lot.

**To his horror, the elf burst into tears — very noisy tears.**

"**S-sit down!" he wailed. "Never… never ever…"**

**Harry thought he heard the voices downstairs falter.**

Lily and James groaned but didn't comment.

"**I'm sorry," he whispered, "I didn't mean to offend you or anything —"**

"**Offend Dobby!" choked the elf. "Dobby has never been asked to sit down by a wizard — like an equal —"**

Hermione narrowed his eyes a little and started muttering angrily about house-elf rights under her breath making Remus raise an eye brow at her.

'What is spew?' He thought confused.

**Harry, trying to say "Shh!" and look comforting at the same time, ushered Dobby back onto the bed where he sat hiccoughing, looking like a large and very ugly doll. At last he managed to control himself, and sat with his great eyes fixed on Harry in an expression of watery adoration.**

"How cute." Alice smiled, she loved house- elves.

"**You can't have met many decent wizards," said Harry, trying to cheer him up.**

**Dobby shook his head. Then, without warning, he leapt up and started banging his head furiously on the window, shouting, "Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby!"**

"He must really not like his family." Frank said shaking his head.

Hermione was trying to blink back tears as her hand flinched towards her wand. The first chance she got, she was going to curse Malfoy for the pain he put Dobby through.

"**Don't — what are you doing?" Harry hissed, springing up and pulling Dobby back onto the bed — Hedwig had woken up with a particularly loud screech and was beating her wings wildly against the bars of her cage.**

Lily closed her eyes tightly; if that elf caused trouble for her son she was going to kill him.

"**Dobby had to punish himself, sir," said the elf, who had gone slightly cross-eyed. "Dobby almost spoke ill of his family, sir…"**

"**Your family?"**

"**The wizard family Dobby serves, sir… Dobby is a house-elf — bound to serve one house and one family forever…"**

"**Do they know you're here?" asked Harry curiously.**

"Not likely." Regulus scoffed, by the way the elf was described he belonged to a dark family, and no dark family would want to help Harry Potter.

**Dobby shuddered. **

"**Oh, no, sir, no… Dobby will have to punish himself most grievously for coming to see you, sir. Dobby will have to shut his ears in the oven door for this. If they ever knew, sir — not even the great Lady would be able to save Dobby Sir"**

'The great Lady?' Almost everyone asked themselves in confusion, house-elves don't call their families anything but Master or Mistress, and to call someone 'The Great Lady' they would have to be someone of great importance, not even Dumbledore has been given a name of such as high standing.

"**But won't they notice if you shut your ears in the oven door?"**

"**Dobby doubts it, sir. Dobby is always having to punish himself for something, sir. They lets Dobby get on with it, sir. Sometimes they reminds me to do extra punishments…"**

"How awful." Marlene and Alice said frowning in pity for the poor creature. Lily to couldn't help but feel bad for the poor thing, he was after all trying to help Harry.

"**But what about that 'great lady' you were talking about won't she help you escape or something?"**

"**A house-elf must be set free, sir. And the family will never set Dobby free… the Great Lady holds no power over that… Dobby will serve the family until he dies, sir…"**

'No,' Harry thought both sadly and proudly, 'He will die a free house-elf.'

Aurora could feel tears trying to fall so she closed her eyes and laid her head on Harry's shoulder trying not to think too much about her first friend.

**Harry stared.**

"**And I thought I had it bad staying here for another four weeks," **

"You do." Everybody but the two Slytherins' said together. Harry sighed but didn't say anything; he simply smiled gently at his friends and family.

**he said. "This makes the Dursleys sound almost human. Can't anyone help you? Can't I?" Almost at once, Harry wished he hadn't spoken. Dobby dissolved again into wails of gratitude.**

"**Please," Harry whispered frantically, "please be quiet. If the Dursleys hear anything, if they know you're here —"**

"**Harry Potter asks if he can help Dobby… Dobby has heard of your greatness, sir, but of your goodness, Dobby never knew…"**

"Wow." It was all James could think to say and really it expressed what everybody was thinking perfectly at the time.

**Harry, who was feeling distinctly hot in the face, said, "Whatever you've heard about my greatness is a load of rubbish. I'm not even top of my year at Hogwarts; that's Aurora and Hermione, they —"**

**But he stopped quickly, because thinking about Aurora and Hermione was painful.**

This made Lily and James glare at the two girls.

"Would you stop that, we already told you we didn't forget about him!" Aurora snapped glaring right back at Harry's parents.

"Look-" James started but Harry interrupted him his voice hard, "Enough! It will explain in the book if you would stop interrupting and listen." James huffed but a calming hand on his shoulder from Lily had him sitting back to listen to Remus read.

"**Harry Potter is humble and modest," said Dobby reverently, his orb-like eyes aglow. "Harry Potter speaks not of his triumph over He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named —"**

"**Voldemort?" said Harry.**

"Idiot." All of his friend's scoffed making Harry lose his frown and pout in mock outrage.

"I was twelve!"

"What's your excuse now?" Ron asked with a small smirk, making everyone but James, Lily, and Harry laugh.

**Dobby clapped his hands over his bat ears and moaned, "Ah, speak not the name, sir! Speak not the name!"**

"**Sorry," said Harry quickly. "I know lots of people don't like it. My friend Ron —"**

**He stopped again. Thinking about Ron was painful, too.**

Ron rolled his eyes at James and Lily but didn't comment.

**Dobby leaned toward Harry, his eyes wide as headlights.**

"**Dobby heard tell," he said hoarsely, "that Harry Potter met the Dark Lord for a second time just weeks ago… that Harry Potter escaped yet again."**

"He must belong to someone from Hogwarts then." Severus murmured to Regulus who nodded his head in agreement.

**Harry nodded and Dobby's eyes suddenly shone with tears.**

"**Ah, sir," he gasped, dabbing his face with a corner of the grubby pillowcase he was wearing. "Harry Potter is valiant and bold! He has braved so many dangers already! But Dobby has come to protect Harry Potter, to warn him, even if he does have to shut his ears in the oven door later… Harry Potter must not go back to Hogwarts."**

"What!?" Everyone from the past yelled in outrage and shock, even Regulus and Severus couldn't help but question the sanity of that elf.

**There was a silence broken only by the chink of knives and forks from downstairs and the distant rumble of Uncle Vernon's voice.**

"**W-what?" Harry stammered. "But I've got to go back — term starts on September first. It's all that's keeping me going. You don't know what it's like here. I don't belong here. I belong in your world — at Hogwarts."**

"**No, no, no," squeaked Dobby, shaking his head so hard his ears flapped. "Harry Potter must stay where he is safe. He is too great, too good, to lose. If Harry Potter goes back to Hogwarts, he will be in mortal danger."**

Lily groaned while rolling her eyes in exhaustion. 'Just one book,' she thought, 'just one book where my son gets to enjoy being a kid, is that too much to ask for?'

"**Why?" said Harry in surprise.**

"**There is a plot, Harry Potter. A plot to make most terrible things happen at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry this year," whispered Dobby, suddenly trembling all over. "Dobby has known it for months, sir. Harry Potter must not put himself in peril. He is too important, sir!"**

"You got to be kidding me." Marlene sighed shooting a quick glance at her daughter. Sirius was tense beside her, he couldn't believe how horrible this book was and it was only the second chapter for Marlins sake!

"**What terrible things?" said Harry at once. "Who's plotting them?"**

"He won't tell you." Regulus rolled his eyes, forgetting for a moment that this already happened.

**Dobby made a funny choking noise and then banged his head frantically against the wall.**

"**All right!" cried Harry, grabbing the elf's arm to stop him. "You can't tell me. I understand. But why are you warning me?" A sudden, unpleasant thought struck him. "Hang on — this hasn't got anything to do with Vol — sorry — with You-Know-Who, has it? You could just shake or nod," he added hastily as Dobby's head tilted worryingly close to the wall again.**

"Smart," Sirius said impressed.

"Thank you!" Harry said with a huge smile and a firm nod of his head. Ginny scoffed at her boyfriend and poked him in the stomach making him deflate a little.

**Slowly, Dobby shook his head.**

"**Not — not He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, sir —"**

**But Dobby's eyes were wide and he seemed to be trying to give Harry a hint. Harry, however, was completely lost.**

"**He hasn't got a brother, has he?"**

"Oh Merlin, that's just what we need." Frank said horrified with the possibility.

**Dobby shook his head, his eyes wider than ever.**

"**Well then, I can't think who else would have a chance of making horrible things happen at Hogwarts," said Harry. "I mean, there's Dumbledore, for one thing — you know who Dumbledore is, don't you?"**

"Everyone knows who Dumbledore is," Neville scoffed amused.

"Would you lot stop picking on me." Harry sighed. All his friends shared a look and said, "No."

"Fine, but when it comes your turn, you won't see me sticking up for you traitors." Harry said unbelievably, he would never let his friends be mocked, not unless he was the one doing the mocking.

**Dobby bowed his head.**

"**Albus Dumbledore is the greatest headmaster Hogwarts has ever had. Dobby knows it, sir. Dobby has heard Dumbledore's powers rival those of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named at the height of his strength. But, sir" — Dobby's voice dropped to an urgent whisper — "there are powers Dumbledore doesn't… powers no decent wizard…"**

"You'll be surprised." Hermione muttered with a frown, she couldn't believe, now that she knows what she knows, that they all put so much faith into one man. Great he may be, but Albus Dumbledore was still just a man, and they should have known that.

**And before Harry could stop him, Dobby bounded off the bed, seized Harry's desk lamp, and started beating himself around the head with earsplitting yelps.**

**A sudden silence fell downstairs. Two seconds later Harry, heart thudding madly, heard Uncle Vernon coming into the hall, calling, "Dudley must have left his television on again, the little tyke!"**

'Oh you stupid Elf!' James moaned in his head not wanting to have his son and his friends mad at him again.

"**Quick! In the closet!" hissed Harry, stuffing Dobby in, shutting the door, and flinging himself onto the bed just as the door handle turned.**

"**What — the —devil — are — you — doing?" said Uncle Vernon through gritted teeth, his face horribly close to Harry's. "You've just ruined the punch line of my Japanese golfer joke… One more sound and you'll wish you'd never been born, boy!"**

Remus and Sirius growled while James hissed, "Touch my son and I will kill you, you stupid inbred bastard!"

"Calm down and let Luna read." Alice said calmly while inside she was seething.

**He stomped flat-footed from the room.**

**Shaking, Harry let Dobby out of the closet.**

"**See what it's like here?" he said. "See why I've got to go back to Hogwarts? It's the only place I've got — well, I think I've got friends."**

Aurora rolled her eyes again and whispered "Idiot,"

"I know, stop reminding me." Harry sighed not realizing he just admitted to being an idiot, something Ginny and Aurora did realize and they couldn't help but giggle at him.

"**Friends who don't even write to Harry Potter?" said Dobby slyly.**

"… How did he know that?" Lily asked voice hard and eyes closed.

Since no one answered her Luna continued to read the blasted book.

"**I expect they've just been — wait a minute," said Harry, frowning. "How do you know my friends haven't been writing to me?"**

**Dobby shuffled his feet.**

"**Harry Potter mustn't be angry with Dobby. Dobby did it for the best —"**

"Please tell me he didn't…" James sighed before shooting the four friends an apologetic look, "I guess I am sorry… you know about before." He said awkwardly.

"You guess," Sirius scoffed, "You insulated them and 'you guess' that you're sorry?"

"It's fine, dad, really… you would have been angry too." Aurora said trying to stop her dad from saying something he would regret.

Both Sirius and Regulus didn't think it was 'fine' but restrained from saying something that would upset Aurora.

"**Have you been stopping my letters?"**

"**Dobby has them here, sir," said the elf. Stepping nimbly out of Harry's reach, he pulled a thick wad of envelopes from the inside of the pillowcase he was wearing. Harry could make out Aurora's graceful print, Hermione's neat writing, Ron's untidy scrawl, and even a scribble that looked as though it was from the Hogwarts gamekeeper, Hagrid.**

Now James was looking really guilty, and Lily's face was red, if it was in anger or embarrassment no one knew.

**Dobby blinked anxiously up at Harry.**

"**Harry Potter mustn't be angry… **

"Oh yes he must be!" Lily yelled annoyed with that House-elf.

"Don't yell at him, he was trying to help." Hermione said trying not to yell at Lilly, she understood that Lilly only wanted to protect her son.

"Well he is going about it the wrong way." Lily snapped at the bushy haired girl.

**Dobby hoped… if Harry Potter thought his friends had forgotten him… Harry Potter might not want to go back to school, sir…"**

**Harry wasn't listening. He made a grab for the letters, but Dobby jumped out of reach.**

"**Harry Potter will have them, sir, if he gives Dobby his word that he will not return to Hogwarts. Ah, sir, this is a danger you must not face! Say you won't go back, sir!"**

"Don't! He is trying to make you agree to a magical oath, even if you lie and say yes to get the letters, if you break the oath your magical core will be broken." Frank said urgently.

"Okay, for one, this already happened, and second I think I only understood half of that." Harry said trying not to roll his eyes.

"Put simply, if you lie and say yes and still go to Hogwarts you would lose your magic." Lily said impatiently, "Now would you keep reading Luna."

"**No," said Harry angrily. "Give me my friends' letters!"**

"**Then Harry Potter leaves Dobby no choice," said the elf sadly.**

**Before Harry could move, Dobby had darted to the bedroom door, pulled it open, and sprinted down the stairs.**

"Oh Dobby." Hermione sighed sadly.

"Don't say anything." Harry said as James opened his mouth, probably to shout insults at the elf.

**Mouth dry, stomach lurching, Harry sprang after him, trying not to make a sound. He jumped the last six steps, landing catlike on the hall carpet, looking around for Dobby. From the dining room he heard Uncle Vernon saying, "… tell Petunia that very funny story about those American plumbers, Mr. Mason. She's been dying to hear…"**

**Harry ran up the hall into the kitchen and felt his stomach disappear.**

"Oh merlin, oh merlin, oh merlin," Lily chanted under her breath.

**Aunt Petunia's masterpiece of a pudding, the mountain of cream and sugared violets, was floating up near the ceiling. On top of a cupboard in the corner crouched Dobby.**

"So that's how that happened." Ron said nodding his head in understanding.

"I told you it wasn't me." Harry scoffed.

"**No," croaked Harry. "Please… they'll kill me…"**

"They do and I'll make sure to introduce them to a friendly werewolf I know." James growled.

"Not before I have some time alone with them." Sirius sneered.

"Oh shush, the both of you, it is pretty obvious that they don't kill him." Marlene said with a sigh while gesturing with a hand towards Harry.

"**Harry Potter must say he's not going back to school —"**

"**Dobby… please…"**

"**Say it, sir —"**

"**I can't —"**

**Dobby gave him a tragic look.**

"**Then Dobby must do it, sir, for Harry Potter's own good."**

**The pudding fell to the floor with a heart-stopping crash. Cream splattered the windows and walls as the dish shattered. With a crack like a whip, Dobby vanished.**

The ones from the past groaned.

"That elf is going to get you killed." Sirius sighed shaking his head.

**There were screams from the dining room and Uncle Vernon burst into the kitchen to find Harry, rigid with shock, covered from head to foot in Aunt Petunia's pudding.**

**At first, it looked as though Uncle Vernon would manage to gloss the whole thing over. ("Just our nephew —very disturbed**— **meeting strangers upsets him, so we kept him upstairs…") He shooed the shocked Masons back into the dining room, promised Harry he would flay him to within an inch of his life when the Masons had left, **

This time it wasn't just Lily who needed to be calmed down by her boyfriend, so did Ginny and Hermione.

**and handed him a mop. Aunt Petunia dug some ice cream out of the freezer and Harry, still shaking, started scrubbing the kitchen clean.**

**Uncle Vernon might still have been able to make his deal — if it hadn't been for the owl.**

**Aunt Petunia was just passing around a box of after-dinner mints when a huge barn owl swooped through the dining room window, dropped a letter on Mrs. Mason's head, and swooped out again. Mrs. Mason screamed like a banshee and ran from the house shouting about lunatics. Mr. Mason stayed just long enough to tell the Dursleys that his wife was mortally afraid of birds of all shapes and sizes, and to ask whether this was their idea of a joke.**

"Why would she be afraid of birds?" Luna asked utterly confused.

Aurora giggled and said, "I don't know… why are people afraid of flying, some people are just weird."

"It is not weird to be afraid of flying." Hermione said stiffly making her friends laugh.

**Harry stood in the kitchen, clutching the mop for support, as Uncle Vernon advanced on him, a demonic glint in his tiny eyes.**

"**Read it!" he hissed evilly, brandishing the letter the owl had delivered. "Go on — read it!"**

**Harry took it. It did not contain birthday greetings.**

**_Dear Mr. Potter,_**

**_We have received intelligence that a Hover Charm was used at your place of residence this evening at twelve minutes past nine._**

**_As you know, underage wizards are not permitted to perform spells outside school, and further spellwork on your part may lead to expulsion from said school. (Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, 1875, Paragraph C)._**

**_We would also ask you to remember that any magical activity that risks notice by members of the non magical community (Muggles) is a serious offense under section 13 of the International Confederation of Warlocks' Statute of Secrecy._**

**_Enjoy your holidays!_**

"Oh yeah, he's going to enjoy it immensely." Sirius scoffed tightening his hold on Marlene.

**_Yours sincerely,_**

**_Mafalda Hopkirk_**

Harry shot a quick look towards Hermione who had a shocked look on her face.

'Who knew?' Harry thought trying to hold in his laughter.

**_IMPROPER USE OF MAGIC OFFICE_**

**_Ministry of Magic_**

**Harry looked up from the letter and gulped.**

"**You didn't tell us you weren't allowed to use magic outside school," said Uncle Vernon, a mad gleam dancing in his eyes. "Forgot to mention it… Slipped your mind, I daresay…"**

"Gee I wonder why he forgot to mention that." James sneered while gently running his hand through Lily's hair.

**He was bearing down on Harry like a great bulldog, all his teeth bared. **

"**Well, I've got news for you, boy… I'm locking you up… **

Lily was glaring at the book with such fury; Luna couldn't help but shift uneasily.

**You're never going back to that school… never… and if you try and magic yourself out — they'll expel you!"**

**And laughing like a maniac, he dragged Harry back upstairs.**

"You know, I think I'm going to introduce that man to my werewolf friend anyways." James said calmly his eyes burning with vehemence making Remus grin with anticipation.

**Uncle Vernon was as bad as his word. The following morning, he paid a man to fit bars on Harry's window. He himself fitted a cat-flap in the bedroom door, so that small amounts of food could be pushed inside three times a day. They let Harry out to use the bathroom morning and evening. Otherwise, he was locked in his room around the clock.**

"I am going to kill her." Lily said thinking of Petunia.

"Oh Lily, you can't kill your sister… but I'll be happy to do it for you." Marlene said nonchalantly causing Alice, Lily, Sirius, and Aurora to laugh.

**Three days later, the Dursleys were showing no sign of relenting, and Harry couldn't see any way out of his situation. He lay on his bed watching the sun sinking behind the bars on the window and wondered miserably what was going to happen to him.**

**What was the good of magicking himself out of his room if Hogwarts would expel him for doing it? Yet life at Privet Drive had reached an all-time low. Now that the Dursleys knew they weren't going to wake up as fruit bats, he had lost his only weapon. Dobby might have saved Harry from horrible happenings at Hogwarts, but the way things were going, he'd probably starve to death anyway.**

**The cat-flap rattled and Aunt Petunias hand appeared, pushing a bowl of canned soup into the room. Harry, whose insides were aching with hunger, jumped off his bed and seized it. The soup was stone-cold, but he drank half of it in one gulp. Then he crossed the room to Hedwig's cage and tipped the soggy vegetables at the bottom of the bowl into her empty food tray. She ruffled her feathers and gave him a look of deep disgust.**

"You're starving, and you still share with your owl." Lily sighed proud that she had such a sweet son.

"I wasn't going to let her die of hunger." Harry said outraged causing Luna and Ginny to beam at him.

"**It's no good turning your beak up at it — that's all we've got," said Harry grimly.**

**He put the empty bowl back on the floor next to the cat-flap and lay back down on the bed, somehow even hungrier than he had been before the soup.**

**Supposing he was still alive in another four weeks, what would happen if he didn't turn up at Hogwarts? Would someone be sent to see why he hadn't come back? Would they be able to make the Dursleys let him go?**

**The room was growing dark. Exhausted, stomach rumbling, mind spinning over the same unanswerable questions, Harry fell into an uneasy sleep.**

**He dreamed that he was on show in a zoo, with a card reading UNDERAGE WIZARD attached to his cage. People goggled through the bars at him as he lay, starving and weak, on a bed of straw. He saw Dobby's face in the crowd and shouted out, asking for help, but Dobby called, "Harry Potter is safe there, sir!" and vanished. Then the Dursleys appeared and Dudley rattled the bars of the cage, laughing at him.**

"You were an odd little boy weren't you?" Regulus said with a small grin.

"Yes he was." All his friends said together laughing.

"Oh shut it."

"**Stop it," Harry muttered as the rattling pounded in his sore head. "Leave me alone… cut it out… I'm trying to sleep…"**

**He opened his eyes. Moonlight was shining through the bars on the window. And someone was goggling through the bars at him: a freckle-faced, red-haired, long-nosed someone.**

**Ron Weasley was outside Harry's window.**

"Yes!" Lily yelled loudly jumping up in her excitement. James was laughing in relief while everyone else cheered.

"See even at twelve you were a hero." Hermione whispered to Ron before kissing him firmly on the lips.

"Knock it off you two we still need to read that damn book." Ginny said with an eye roll, but she too was grinning hugely at her brother.

"Neville it's your turn again." Luna said with a beaming smile happy that her friend was getting out of that horrid house.

"Thank you." Neville said before reading the title of the next chapter. "The Burrow,"

**Please Review The next chapter will be up on New Years**


	3. The Burrow

**"The Burrow," **Neville read with an excited smile,having to wait until the cheering stopped to continue.

**"Ron." breathed Harry, creeping to the window and pushing it up so they could talk through the bars. "Ron, how did you —? What the** —?"

**Harry's mouth fell open as the full impact of what he was seeing hit him. Ron was leaning out of the back window of an old turquoise car, which was parked in midair. **

"Awesome!" Sirius and James cheered laughing

"…That is brilliant, but my bike is still better." Sirius said relaxing into his seat. He felt louds better now that his best friend had stopped insulting his daughter, and his godson was getting away from those bloody farm animals.

**Grinning at Harry from the front seats were Fred and George, Ron's elder twin brothers.**

Everyone from the future grinned, those who knew Fred best a little more sadly then the others.

"**All right, Harry?" asked George.**

"**What's been going on?" said Ron. "Why haven't you been answering my letters? I've asked you to stay about twelve times, and then Dad came home and said you'd got an official warning for using magic in front of Muggles —"**

**"It wasn't me — and how did he know?"**

"**He works for the Ministry," said Ron. "You know we're not supposed to do spells outside school —"**

"Didn't he just say he didn't do it?" Severus asked with a raised eyebrow.

"He's a Weasley, what did you expect?" Regulus said jokingly.

"Hey!" Ron and Ginny yelled offended.

"**You should talk," said Harry, staring at the floating car.**

"**Oh, this doesn't count," said Ron. "We're only borrowing this. It's Dad's, **

"Arthur!" James, Sirius, and Remus said together sharing huge grins with each other.

"Looks like something's don't change." Remus laughed.

"Yeah, but we wouldn't want them to, Arthur wouldn't be Arthur if he wasn't Muggle crazy." James said placing his arm around Lily.

"Wait, you know our dad?" Ginny asked shooting a confused look over at her brother who could only shrug not knowing about that either.

"Yeah, we are friends with Gideon and Fabian and sometimes they have Molly and Arthur over for dinner." Sirius explained sighing softly when he remembered that they die in the future.

"Oh." Ginny whispered before motioning for Neville to keep reading.

**we didn't enchant it. But doing magic in front of those Muggles you live with —"**

"Idiot." Aurora scoffed shaking her head at her friend, "How many times will he have to tell you he didn't do it before it sinks in."

"Oh leave me alone." Ron snapped crossing his arms in front of him and pouted, looking a lot like a five year old kid.

**"I told you, I didn't — but it'll take too long to explain now **— **look, can you tell them at Hogwarts that the Dursleys have locked me up and won't let me come back, and obviously I can't magic myself out, because the Ministry'll think that's the second spell I've done in three days, so —"**

"Do you really think they traveled all that way only to leave you there?" Severus asked with an all too familiar sneer.

"I was twelve!" Harry yelled exasperated. When Severus open his mouth to say something snarky Lily interrupted their mini argument.

"Sev, please stop." Lily sighed rolling her eyes. Severus leaned back, looking at his oldest friend before nodding.

"Whipped." Harry muttered under his breath smirking when Severus glared at him, looking a lot like his future self would one day.

"**Stop gibbering," said Ron. "We've come to take you home with us."**

"**But you can't magic me out either —"**

"**We don't need to," said Ron, jerking his head toward the front seat and grinning. "You forget who I've got with me."**

"I knew I like those two for a reason." James smiled running his hand through Lily's hair absentmindedly.

"How are they going to get him out without magic?" Alice asked with a tilted head.

"They're pranksters, they will find a way." Remus said with a small smirk, showing everyone his Marauder side once again only this time everyone wasn't surprised to see it.

"**Tie that around the bars," said Fred, throwing the end of a rope to Harry.**

"**If the Dursleys wake up, I'm dead," said Harry as he tied the rope tightly around a bar and Fred revved up the car.**

"**Don't worry," said Fred, "and stand back."**

**Harry moved back into the shadows next to Hedwig, who seemed to have realized how important this was and kept still and silent. **

"Smart owl." Frank murmured impressed.

**The car revved louder and louder and suddenly, with a crunching noise, **

"Okay, I get they are trying to help Harry escape that zoo, but can't they do it a little more quietly." Sirius said with a wince just thinking about what kind of trouble Harry would get into if they were caught.

"Uncle Vernon is a deep sleeper, don't worry Sirius." Harry reassured his godfather with a gentle smile.

**the bars were pulled clean out of the window as Fred drove straight up in the air. Harry ran back to the window to see the bars dangling a few feet above the ground. Panting, Ron hoisted them up into the car. Harry listened anxiously, but there was no sound from the Dursleys' bedroom.**

Everyone from the past let out a relieve breath.

**When the bars were safely in the back seat with Ron, Fred reversed as close as possible to Harry's window.**

"**Get in," Ron said.**

"**But all my Hogwarts stuff — my wand — my broomstick —"**

"**Where is it?"**

"**Locked in the cupboard under the stairs, and I can't get out of this room —"**

"**No problem," said George from the front passenger seat. "Out of the way, Harry."**

**Fred and George climbed catlike through the window into Harry's room. You had to hand it to them, thought Harry, as George took an ordinary hairpin from his pocket and started to pick the lock.**

"Very useful skill to have." James laughed along with his two best friends.

"Where did you learn it from? You're a pure blood." Frank asked with a raised eyebrow. Most pure bloods couldn't even grasp the concept of a light bulb, much less picking a lock.

"Gideon and Fabian showed us during their last year at Hogwarts." Remus explained with a smile. "Peter was the only one who didn't quite get it."

Sirius and James started laughing loudly, "Remember, he somehow poked his eye with the lock pick."

"We never did find out how he did that." James laughed. Everyone from the past was laughing with them; even Regulus and Severus couldn't help but grin. They didn't notice how Aurora, Harry, Ron and Hermione had stiffened.

"**A lot of wizards think it's a waste of time, knowing this sort of Muggle trick," said Fred, "but we feel they're skills worth learning, even if they are a bit slow."**

**There was a small click and the door swung open.**

"**So — **

**we'll get your trunk — **

**you grab anything you need from your room and hand it out to Ron," whispered George.**

"**Watch out for the bottom stair — it creaks," Harry whispered back as the twins disappeared onto the dark landing.**

**Harry dashed around his room, collecting his things and passing them out of the window to Ron. Then he went to help Fred and George heave his trunk up the stairs. Harry heard Uncle Vernon cough.**

"Oh, please don't wake up." Lily groaned.

**At last, panting, they reached the landing, then carried the trunk through Harry's room to the open window. Fred climbed back into the car to pull with Ron, and Harry and George pushed from the bedroom side. Inch by inch, the trunk slid through the window.**

**Uncle Vernon coughed again.**

Lily and James groaned again, "For once in his life, why can't he be useful and stay asleep." James said shaking his head.

"**A bit more," panted Fred, who was pulling from inside the car. "One good push"**

**Harry and George threw their shoulders against the trunk and it slid out of the window into the back seat of the car.**

"**Okay, let's go," George whispered.**

"Wait you forgot about Hedwig!" Ginny said sitting up straighter while slapping Harry on the back of his head, "How could you forget Hedwig?"

"I didn't mean to." Harry grumbled rubbing his head.

**But as Harry climbed onto the windowsill there came a sudden loud screech from behind him, followed immediately by the thunder of Uncle Vernon's voice.**

"**THAT RUDDY OWL!"**

"I hate that man." James said simply stating a fact that would never change no matter how many years passed.

"**I've forgotten Hedwig!"**

**Harry tore back across the room as the landing light clicked on — he snatched up Hedwig's cage, dashed to the window, and passed it out to Ron. He was scrambling back onto the chest of drawers when Uncle Vernon hammered on the unlocked door — and it crashed open.**

**For a split second, Uncle Vernon stood framed in the doorway; then he let out a bellow like an angry bull and dived at Harry, grabbing him by the ankle.**

"Don't touch my son!" Lily and James yelled together masking the growls Remus and Sirius were letting out.

**Ron, Fred, and George seized Harry's arms and pulled as hard as they could.**

"**Petunia!" roared Uncle Vernon. "He's getting away! HE'S GETTING AWAY!"**

"Why does he care!?" Alice asked outraged. "He hates Harry, why can't he just let him go?"

"Because he wants Harry to be miserable and if he goes he will be happy and with people who cared about him." Luna said with deep frown on her face.

"I'll show him miserable," Sirius muttered under his breath glaring wildly at the book.

"… Dad, you know you're very strange right?" Aurora asked with a raised eye brow.

"Everybody knows that but him, love." Marlene said laughing causing Sirius to stop glaring at the book to stare at his girlfriend in insulted shock.

**But the Weasleys gave a gigantic tug and Harry's leg slid out of Uncle Vernon's grasp — Harry was in the car — he'd slammed the door shut —**

"**Put your foot down, Fred!" yelled Ron, and the car shot suddenly toward the moon.**

**Harry couldn't believe it — he was free. **

"Finally!" Lily yelled excited.

**He rolled down the window, the night air whipping his hair, and looked back at the shrinking rooftops of Privet Drive. Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley were all hanging, dumbstruck, out of Harry's window.**

"Isn't that how they always look?" James asked his son in mock confusion.

"Pretty much yeah." Harry laughed.

"**See you next summer!" Harry yelled.**

"Do you have to?" Lily, James, Sirius, and Remus asked as one making Harry laugh more loudly.

"Unfortunately yes." Harry said once he calmed down enough to speak.

**The Weasleys roared with laughter and Harry settled back in his seat, grinning from ear to ear.**

"**Let Hedwig out," he told Ron. "She can fly behind us. She hasn't had a chance to stretch her wings for ages."**

**George handed the hairpin to Ron and, a moment later, Hedwig soared joyfully out of the window to glide alongside them like a ghost.**

Ginny and Luna were beaming at Harry, who was smiling at the memory of that night.

"**So — what's the story, Harry?" said Ron impatiently. "What's been happening?"**

**Harry told them all about Dobby, the warning he'd given Harry and the fiasco of the violet pudding. There was a long, shocked silence when he had finished.**

"**Very fishy," said Fred finally.**

"**Definitely dodgy" agreed George. "So he wouldn't even tell you who's supposed to be plotting all this stuff?"**

"**I don't think he could," said Harry. "I told you, every time he got close to letting something slip, he started banging his head against the wall."**

**He saw Fred and George look at each other.**

"**What, you think he was lying to me?" said Harry.**

"I don't think he was," Frank said thoughtfully, "He seemed too genuinely care about Harry and his welfare."

Lily and James couldn't help but snort, "He had some way of showing it."

Harry sent a small glare towards his parents. "Please wait until the end of the book to judge him." His voice was calm, but everyone could hear the threat underneath that calm. James and Lily shared a shocked look but nodded their heads in agreement. They didn't like the hard expression on Harry's face.

"**Well," said Fred, "put it this way — house-elves have got powerful magic of their own, but they can't usually use it without their master's permission. I reckon old Dobby was sent to stop you coming back to Hogwarts. Someones idea of a joke. Can you think of anyone at school with a grudge against you?"**

"Malfoy." Everybody but James and Sirius said together, those two had said, "Snape,"

"I assure you I would not spend my summer plotting against a Potter, I'm sure I have better things to occupy my time with." Severus said mockingly making the two friends to glare at him.

"**Yes," said Harry and Ron together, instantly.**

"**Draco Malfoy," Harry explained. "He hates me."**

**"Draco Malfoy?" said George, turning around. "Not Aurora's cousin?"**

"Unfortunately." Sirius and Regulus said with matching sneers.

"He's not that bad." Aurora said rolling her eyes.

"So you say, but I haven't seen anything that shows him helping you in any way." Sirius said reminding Aurora of when they had first talked about Draco in her fourth year.

"That is because you are only seeing him through Harry's perspective and not through mine." Aurora replied with a firm head nod ending the discussion… for the time being anyway.

"**Must be, it's not a very common name, is it?" said Harry.**

"**I've heard Dad talking about his father," said George. "He was a big supporter of You-Know-Who."**

"**And when You-Know-Who disappeared," said Fred, craning around to look at Harry, "Lucius Malfoy came back saying he'd never meant any of it. Load of dung — Dad reckons he was right in You- Know-Who's inner circle."**

"He is." Regulus muttered under his breath.

**Harry had heard these rumors about Malfoy's family before, and while they didn't surprise him at all Aurora would never talk about her life with the Malfoy family so he didn't know if any were true. But Harry always thought Malfoy made Dudley Dursley look like a kind, thoughtful, and sensitive boy…**

Aurora rolling her eyes yet again poked Harry in his side making him squirm away from her.

"**I don't know whether the Malfoys own a house-elf… Aurora never mentioned having one" said Harry.**

"**Well, whoever owns him will be an old wizarding family, and they'll be rich," said Fred.**

"**Yeah, Mum's always wishing we had a house-elf to do the ironing," said George. **

"She has one now." Ginny grinned while pushing Harry away from her since he was practically on top of her trying to get away from Aurora's constant poking.

**"But all we've got is a lousy old ghoul in the attic and gnomes all over the garden. House-elves come with big old manors and castles and places like that; you wouldn't catch one in our house…"**

**Harry was silent. Judging by the fact that Draco Malfoy usually had the best of everything, his family was rolling in wizard gold; he could just see Malfoy strutting around a large manor house. Sending the family servant to stop Harry from going back to Hogwarts also sounded exactly like the sort of thing Malfoy would do, but Aurora would have warned him if that was the case… but then again Dobby had been stopping his mail. Had Harry been stupid to take Dobby seriously?**

Lily and James huffed at the thought of the little house-elf that caused their son so much trouble but didn't say anything trying to avoid angering Harry.

"**I'm glad we came to get you, anyway," said Ron. "I was getting really worried when you didn't answer any of my letters. I thought it was Errol's fault at first —"**

"**Who's Errol?"**

"**Our owl. He's ancient. It wouldn't be the first time he'd collapsed on a delivery. **

"Poor thing." Alice whispered with a small frown.

**So then I tried to borrow Hermes —"**

"**Who?"**

"**The owl Mum and Dad bought Percy when he was made prefect," said Fred from the front.**

"**But Percy wouldn't lend him to me," said Ron. "Said he needed him."**

"**Percy's been acting very oddly this summer," said George, frowning. "And he has been sending a lot of letters and spending a load of time shut up in his room… I mean, there's only so many times you can polish a prefect badge… **

James started laughing loudly at Georges comment until a grinning Sirius said, "Why are you laughing? When you got your Head Boy badge, you couldn't stop polishing it either."

"Yeah you also stopped whenever you saw yourself in anything shinny too, 'to make sure it's on straight' as you would say." Remus smirked at his now blushing friend.

"You guys suck." James said frowning.

**You're driving too far west, Fred," he added, pointing at a compass on the dashboard. Fred twiddled the steering wheel.**

**"So, does your dad know you've got the car?" said Harry, guessing the answer.**

"No." Every male in the room said as one, even the Slytherins.

"**Er, no," said Ron, "he had to work tonight. Hopefully we'll be able to get it back in the garage without Mum noticing we flew it."**

"Not likely." Sirius scoffed.

"Oh to be so young and naïve." James grinned.

"More like foolish and stupid." Severus said with a wicked smirk.

**"What does your dad do at the Ministry of Magic, anyway?"**

**"He works in the most boring department," said Ron. "The Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office."**

"I don't think it's boring." Ginny said with a glare towards her brother.

"I don't either… most of the time." Ron said muttering the last part.

"**The what?"**

"**It's all to do with bewitching things that are Muggle-made, you know, in case they end up back in a Muggle shop or house. Like, last year, some old witch died and her tea set was sold to an antiques shop. This Muggle woman bought it, took it home, and tried to serve her friends tea in it. It was a nightmare — Dad was working overtime for weeks."**

"**What happened?"**

"**The teapot went berserk and squirted boiling tea all over the place and one man ended up in the hospital with the sugar tongs clamped to his nose. **

"That's horrible." Lily gasped eyes wide.

"Yeah, Arthur's job is taken for granted in the Ministry just because it has to do with Muggles, but it is very important." Frank said his arm around Alice.

"That's what mom has been saying for years." Ron said with a small laugh.

**Dad was going frantic — it's only him and an old warlock called Perkins in the office — and they had to do Memory Charms and all sorts of stuff to cover it up —"**

"**But your dad — this car —"**

Everyone who knew Arthur couldn't help but chuckle fondly.

**Fred laughed. "Yeah, Dad's crazy about everything to do with Muggles; our shed's full of Muggle stuff. He takes it apart, puts spells on it, and puts it back together again. If he raided our house he'd have to put himself under arrest. It drives Mum mad."**

"I bet." Alice laughed.

"**That's the main road," said George, peering down through the windshield. "We'll be there in ten minutes… Just as well, it's getting light…"**

**A faint pinkish glow was visible along the horizon to the east.**

**Fred brought the car lower, and Harry saw a dark patchwork of fields and clumps of trees.**

"**We're a little way outside the village," said George. "Ottery St. Catchpole."**

**Lower and lower went the flying car. The edge of a brilliant red sun was now gleaming through the trees.**

"**Touchdown!" said Fred as, with a slight bump, they hit the ground. They had landed next to a tumbledown garage in a small yard, and Harry looked out for the first time at Ron's house.**

**It looked as though it had once been a large stone pigpen, but extra rooms had been added here and there until it was several stories high and so crooked it looked as though it were held up by magic (which Harry reminded himself, it probably was). Four or five chimneys were perched on top of the red roof. A lopsided sign stuck in the ground near the entrance read, THE BURROW. Around the front door lay a jumble of rubber boots and a very rusty cauldron. Several fat brown chickens were pecking their way around the yard.**

"It sounds lovely." Marlene sighed.

"Yes it does but we are not living in a house with chickens." Sirius said smiling at his girlfriend.

"Oh hush, you know I always loved the country." Marlene said slapping Sirius lightly on the chest.

"Not that it's getting awkward for me or anything, but can you talk about this some other time… like when I'm not in the room." Aurora said rolling her eyes at her parents.

"Sorry love." Sirius laughed.

"**It's not much," said Ron.**

"**It's wonderful," said Harry happily, thinking of Privet Drive.**

"Any place is wonderful compared to Privet Drive." James muttered under his breath.

**They got out of the car.**

"**Now, we'll go upstairs really quietly," said Fred, "and wait for Mum to call us for breakfast Then, Ron, you come bounding downstairs going, 'Mum, look who turned up in the night!' and she'll be all pleased to see Harry and no one need ever know we flew the car."**

"Huh, I may have to rethink my former opinion of them if they really believe that plan would work." Sirius said grinning happily.

"In their defense they have been awake all day and night." Aurora said smiling at her father.

"Doesn't matter, all good pranksters must always have a believable excuse to use at the ready."

"Oh yeah, then why is that whenever we are caught, the first thing out of your mouth is, I didn't do it James?" Remus asked with a raised eyebrow.

"And why do you two suddenly decide to start picking on me?" James asked back with a pout.

"Because it's fun." Both Sirius and Remus said together with matching shrugs.

"**Right," said Ron. "Come on, Harry, I sleep at the — at the top —"**

"And in enters Molly." Sirius said in an announcer's voice making everybody around him laugh.

**Ron had gone a nasty greenish color, his eyes fixed on the house. The other three wheeled around.**

**Mrs. Weasley was marching across the yard, scattering chickens, and for a short, plump, kind-faced woman, it was remarkable how much she looked like a saber-toothed tiger.**

Everybody who knew Molly Weasley laughed knowing that statement was very true, especially when someone threatened her family.

"**Ah, "said Fred.**

"**Oh, dear," said George.**

**Mrs. Weasley came to a halt in front of them, her hands on her hips, staring from one guilty face to the next. She was wearing a flowered apron with a wand sticking out of the pocket.**

"**So," she said.**

"**Morning, Mum," said George, in what he clearly thought was a jaunty, winning voice.**

"It wasn't, it was more like a croaky whimper." Ron said laughing.

"Like you were any better Mate." Harry said grinning at his best friend.

"**Have you any idea how worried I've been?" said Mrs. Weasley in a deadly whisper.**

"**Sorry, Mum, but see, we had to —"**

**All three of Mrs. Weasley's sons were taller than she was, but they cowered as her rage broke over them.**

"**Beds empty! No note! Car gone — could have crashed — out of my mind with worry — did you care? —never, as long as I've lived — you wait until your father gets home, we never had trouble like this from Bill or Charlie or Percy —"**

"**Perfect Percy," muttered Fred.**

"Bad idea." James said knowledgably.

"**YOU COULD DO WITH TAKING A LEAF OUT OF PERCY'S BOOK!" yelled Mrs. Weasley, prodding a finger in Fred's chest. "You could have died, you could have been seen, you could have lost your father his job —"**

**It seemed to go on for hours. Mrs. Weasley had shouted herself hoarse before she turned on Harry, who backed away.**

"Like she would ever yell at you." Ron scoffed somewhat bitterly.

"Well she did yell at me once." Harry said sheepishly.

"Why would she yell at you?" Lily asked.

"Oh well, I might have done something she didn't like a few month ago." Harry answered trying to avoid looking at anyone.

"You did something nobody liked you idiot." Aurora said poking Harry in the side again.

"Oh like you didn't." Harry said back defensibly.

"I thought we weren't talking about that." Aurora said stubbornly crossing her arms in front of herself.

"What did she do?" Regulus asked looking between the two friends before shooting a worried look towards his brother who was sitting up straight and staring at Aurora with a frown on his face.

"Let's just say she followed family tradition." Harry said voice and expression hard.

Before anybody could respond Hermione said, "Ok this is why we don't talk about this, every time we do you two always end up screaming at each other, and Aurora you know what happened last time. Neville keep reading, everybody else I know your curious but you will have to wait until the last book to find out alright." Aurora and Harry huffed but that didn't stop Harry from wrapping his arm around her and pulling her close to his side, almost as if he were afraid she would disappear.

"**I'm very pleased to see you, Harry, dear," she said. "Come in and have some breakfast."**

**She turned and walked back into the house and Harry, after a nervous glance at Ron, who nodded encouragingly, followed her.**

**The kitchen was small and rather cramped. There was a scrubbed wooden table and chairs in the middle, and Harry sat down on the edge of his seat, looking around. He had never been in a wizard house before.**

**The clock on the wall opposite him had only one hand and no numbers at all. Written around the edge were things like Time to make tea, Time to feed the chickens, and You're late. **

"I always loved that clock." Luna sighed breaking the tension in the room.

**Books were stacked three deep on the mantelpiece, books with titles like Charm Your Own Cheese, Enchantment in Baking, and One Minute Feasts — It's Magic! And unless Harry's ears were deceiving him, the old radio next to the sink had just announced that coming up was "Witching Hour, with the popular singing sorceress, Celestina Warbeck."**

Every male in the room grimaced in disgust, "I hate that woman." Frank said shaking his head.

**Mrs. Weasley was clattering around, cooking breakfast a little haphazardly, throwing dirty looks at her sons as she threw sausages into the frying pan. Every now and then she muttered things like "don't know what you were thinking of," and "never would have believed it."**

"**I don't blame you, dear," she assured Harry, tipping eight or nine sausages onto his plate. **

"She never does." Rom muttered causing Hermione to pinch him in the side.

"**Arthur and I have been worried about you, too. Just last night we were saying we'd come and get you ourselves if you hadn't written back to Ron by Friday. But really," (she was now adding three fried eggs to his plate) "flying an illegal car halfway across the country — anyone could have seen you —"**

**She flicked her wand casually at the dishes in the sink, which began to clean themselves, clinking gently in the background.**

"**It was cloudy, Mum!" said Fred.**

"**You keep your mouth closed while you're eating!" Mrs. Weasley snapped.**

"**They were starving him, Mum!" said George.**

"**And you!" said Mrs. Weasley, but it was with a slightly softened expression that she started cutting Harry bread and buttering it for him.**

**At that moment there was a diversion in the form of a small, redheaded figure in a long nightdress, who appeared in the kitchen, gave a small squeal, and ran out again.**

"Oh no." Ginny moaned burying her head in Harrys shoulder.

"Was that you?" James asked the blushing girl.

The only answer he received was a muffled scream.

**"Ginny," said Ron in an undertone to Harry. "My sister. She's been talking about you all summer."**

"**Yeah, she'll be wanting your autograph, Harry," Fred said with a grin, **

Ginny lifted her head face red, and started glaring at the book.

"That idiot." Aurora said grinning softly.

**but he caught his mother's eye and bent his face over his plate without another word. Nothing more was said until all four plates were clean, which took a surprisingly short time.**

"What's so surprising about it, they are a bunch of guys." Marlene said sarcastically.

"Hey!" Sirius yelled out offended along with every other guy in the room.

"What you guys eat like it's going out of fashion, especially you Remus." Marlene said unrepentantly.

"Oi don't bring me into this," Remus said chuckling.

"Neville dear, keep reading would you." Alice said with laughter in her voice.

"**Blimey, I'm tired," yawned Fred, setting down his knife and fork at last. "I think I'll go to bed and —"**

"That wouldn't work in a million years." James said with a scoff.

**"You will not," snapped Mrs. Weasley. "It's your own fault you've been up all night. You're going to de-gnome the garden for me; they're getting completely out of hand again —"**

"**Oh, Mum —"**

"**And you two," she said, glaring at Ron and Fred. "You can go up to bed, dear," she added to Harry. "You didn't ask them to fly that wretched car —"**

**But Harry, who felt wide awake, said quickly, "I'll help Ron. I've never seen a de-gnoming —"**

"It's boring Harry, you should go to bed." James said sounding very much like his own father.

"**That's very sweet of you, dear, but it's dull work," said Mrs. Weasley. "Now, let's see what Lockhart's got to say on the subject —"**

"Lockhart!?" Everyone from the past asked in shock while everyone from the future groaned as one.

"Forgot about that idiot." Ron moaned.

"Wait a bloody moment, Lockhart as in the lying pretty boy in Regs year?" Sirius asked in disgust. "He wrote a book. You got to be kidding."

"I wish he only wrote one book." Aurora said wistfully, she hated that man.

"He wrote more than one?" Now it was Regulus turn to be surprise, "That moron managed to write a book, a book people actually want to read?"

"If by people you mean woman, then yes." Ron answered looking at his girlfriend who was trying not to blush.

"Unbelievable." Both Black brothers said together.

**And she pulled a heavy book from the stack on the mantelpiece. George groaned.**

"**Mum, we know how to de-gnome a garden —"**

**Harry looked at the cover of Mrs. Weasley's book. Written across it in fancy gold letters were the words Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Household Pests. There was a big photograph on the front of a very good-looking wizard with wavy blond hair and bright blue eyes. As always in the wizarding world, the photograph was moving; the wizard, who Harry supposed was Gilderoy Lockhart, kept winking cheekily up at them all. **

"I see he hasn't change at all then." Marlene said with a small smirk at her boyfriend who was glaring at the book hatefully.

**Mrs. Weasley beamed down at him.**

"Disgusting." Sirius sneered making Marlene laugh.

"What is with you two?" Harry asked amused.

"Oh nothing, Sirius here just doesn't appreciate Lockhart chasing after Marlene for the past two years." Remus said trying to hold in his laughter.

"Eww." Aurora grimaced, "Now I know why he was so flirty."

"Why he was so what?" Sirius, Regulus, James, and Remus asked together with angry frowns.

"Don't worry, he didn't do anything." Harry said reassuringly.

"But he tried something, didn't he?" Sirius asked furiously.

"Don't worry about it dad, he gets his just deserts, trust me you'll love it." Aurora said giggling.

"That is not going to stop me from killing him." Sirius muttered darkly.

"**Oh, he is marvelous," she said. "He knows his household pests, all right, it's a wonderful book…"**

"**Mum fancies him," said Fred, in a very audible whisper.**

"**Don't be so ridiculous, Fred," said Mrs. Weasley, her cheeks rather pink. "All right, if you think you know better than Lockhart, **

"Everybody knows better than him." Severus said darkly.

**you can go and get on with it, and woe betide you if there's a single gnome in that garden when I come out to inspect it."**

**Yawning and grumbling, the Weasleys slouched outside with Harry behind them. The garden was large, and in Harry's eyes, exactly what a garden should be. The Dursleys wouldn't have liked it — there were plenty of weeds, and the grass needed cutting — but there were gnarled trees all around the walls, plants Harry had never seen spilling from every flower bed, and a big green pond full of frogs.**

"**Muggles have garden gnomes, too, you know," Harry told Ron they crossed the lawn.**

"Yeah but not like ours." James said grinning.

"I know dad." Harry sighed rolling his eyes.

"**Yeah, I've seen those things they think are gnomes," said Ron, bent double with his head in a peony bush, "like fat little Santa Clauses with fishing rods…"**

**There was a violent scuffling noise, the peony bush shuddered, and Ron straightened up. "This is a gnome," he said grimly.**

**It was certainly nothing like Santa Claus. It was small and leathery looking, with a large, knobby, bald head exactly like a potato. Ron held it at arm's length as it kicked out at him with its horny little feet; he grasped it around the ankles and turned it upside down.**

"**This is what you have to do," he said. He raised the gnome above his head ("Gerroff me!") and started to swing it in great circles like a lasso. Seeing the shocked look on Harry's face, Ron added, "It doesn't hurt them —you've just got to make them really dizzy so they can't find their way back to the gnome holes."**

**He let go of the gnome's ankles: It flew twenty feet into the air and landed with a thud in the field over the hedge.**

"Pitiful, I can throw one fifty feet." Frank said smiling thinking about all the times he had to de-gnome his garden as punishment.

"**Pitiful," said Fred. "I bet I can get mine beyond that stump."**

**Harry learned quickly not to feel too sorry for the gnomes. He decided just to drop the first one he caught over the hedge, but the gnome, sensing weakness, sank its razor-sharp teeth into Harry's finger and he had a hard job shaking it off — until **

"**Wow, Harry — that must've been fifty feet…"**

Frank stared at Harry impressed while Harry and James laughing at the look on his face.

**The air was soon thick with flying gnomes.**

"**See, they're not too bright," said George, seizing five or six gnomes at once. "The moment they know the de-gnoming's going on they storm up to have a look. You'd think they'd have learned by now just to stay put."**

**Soon, the crowd of gnomes in the field started walking away in a straggling line, their little shoulders hunched.**

"**They'll be back," said Ron as they watched the gnomes disappear into the hedge on the other side of the field. "They love it here… Dad's too soft with them; he thinks they're funny…"**

**Just then, the front door slammed.**

"**He's back!" said George. "Dad's home!"**

"Right on time." Remus said with a small amused snort.

**They hurried through the garden and back into the house.**

**Mr. Weasley was slumped in a kitchen chair with his glasses off and his eyes closed. He was a thin man, going bald, but the little hair he had was as red as any of his children's. He was wearing long green robes, which were dusty and travel-worn.**

"**What a night," he mumbled, groping for the teapot as they all sat down around him. "Nine raids. Nine! And old Mundungus Fletcher tried to put a hex on me when I had my back turned…"**

"Mundungus," Sirius sighed shaking his head, "He will never change apparently."

**Mr. Weasley took a long gulp of tea and sighed.**

"**Find anything, Dad?" said Fred eagerly.**

"**All I got were a few shrinking door keys and a biting kettle," yawned Mr. Weasley. "There was some pretty nasty stuff that wasn't my department, though. Mortlake was taken away for questioning about some extremely odd ferrets, but that's the Committee on Experimental Charms, thank goodness…"**

"**Why would anyone bother making door keys shrink?" said George.**

"Sounds like something you three would think up." Lily said with an unimpressed frown.

"We would never!" Sirius, James, and Remus yelled together outraged.

"We would never prank Muggles with magic… well maybe the Dursley family but they are a special case." James said hurt that his Lily-flower would think so little of him and his friends.

"Well maybe… but you three were still pretty cruel with some of the pranks you pulled." Lily said her tone only a little remorseful.

"You're right we were, but we were kids, we are still kids really, don't be too harsh Lily, we have tried to make up for the harm we have done." Remus said eyes downcast.

"You never tried with me." Severus sneered hatefully.

"Hey! We tried once at the beginning of seventh year, but you thought we were pulling something and started to throw curses at us." Sirius said arm crossed scornfully snorting when he noticed Snapes surprised face.

"Enough!" You lot can talk about this latter, for now Neville keep reading I want to be done with this book as soon as possible." Harry said his voice firm and commanding.

"**Just Muggle-baiting," sighed Mr. Weasley. "Sell them a key that keeps shrinking to nothing so they can never find it when they need it… Of course, it's very hard to convict anyone because no Muggle would admit their key keeps shrinking — they'll insist they just keep losing it. Bless them, they'll go to any lengths to ignore magic, even if it's staring them in the face… But the things our lot have taken to enchanting, you wouldn't believe —"**

"**LIKE CARS, FOR INSTANCE?"**

"Well he walked right into that one." Frank said trying to defuse the tension in the room. It didn't work.

**Mrs. Weasley had appeared, holding a long poker like a sword. Mr. Weasley's eyes jerked open. He stared guiltily at his wife.**

"**C-cars, Molly, dear?"**

"**Yes, Arthur, cars," said Mrs. Weasley, her eyes flashing. "Imagine a wizard buying a rusty old car and telling his wife all he wanted to do with it was take it apart to see how it worked, while really he was enchanting it to make it fly."**

**Mr. Weasley blinked.**

"**Well, dear, I think you'll find that he would be quite within the law to do that, even if — er — he maybe would have done better to, um, tell his wife the truth… There's a loophole in the law, you'll find… As long as he wasn't intending to fly the car, the fact that the car could fly wouldn't —"**

"How much would you like to bet that he wrote that law?" Alice asked smiling softly.

"**Arthur Weasley, you made sure there was a loophole when you wrote that law!" shouted Mrs. Weasley. "Just so you could carry on tinkering with all that Muggle rubbish in your shed! And for your information, Harry arrived this morning in the car you weren't intending to fly!"**

"**Harry?" said Mr. Weasley blankly. "Harry who?"**

"Harry who?" James asked smiling, he was still a little still hurt about what Lily said but was trying not to show it, "What other Harry does he know."

**He looked around, saw Harry, and jumped.**

"**Good lord, is it Harry Potter? Very pleased to meet you, Ron's told us so much about —"**

"**Your sons flew that car to Harry's house and back last night!" shouted Mrs. Weasley. "What have you got to say about that, eh?"**

**"Did you really?" said Mr. Weasley eagerly. "Did it go all right?**

"Bad move Arthur." Sirius muttered looking at Marlene with a fond smile.

**I — I mean," he faltered as sparks flew from Mrs. Weasley's eyes, "that — that was very wrong, boys — very wrong indeed…"**

"That worked to break the tension since everybody could help but laugh or snort at how afraid Arthur was of his wife.

"Poor man." Remus chuckled.

"**Let's leave them to it," Ron muttered to Harry as Mrs. Weasley swelled like a bullfrog. "Come on, I'll show you my bedroom."**

**They slipped out of the kitchen and down a narrow passageway to an uneven staircase, which wound its way, zigzagging up through the house. On the third landing, a door stood ajar. Harry just caught sight of a pair of bright brown eyes staring at him before it closed with a snap.**

Ginny let out a mortified moan but didn't comment. Harry smiled at her and kissed her on top of her head.

"**Ginny," said Ron. "You don't know how weird it is for her to be this shy. She never shuts up normally —"**

"I'm sorry!" Ron said quickly trying to avoid his little sister's wrath.

"You will be." Ginny said darkly shooting her brother a glare.

**They climbed two more flights until they reached a door with peeling paint and a small plaque on it, saying RONALD'S ROOM.**

**Harry stepped in, his head almost touching the sloping ceiling, and blinked. It was like walking into a furnace: Nearly everything in Ron's room seemed to be a violent shade of orange: **

"Oh please tell me you're not…" James moaned almost as if he were in pain.

**the bedspread, the walls, even the ceiling. Then Harry realized that Ron had covered nearly every inch of the shabby wallpaper with posters of the same seven witches and wizards, all wearing bright orange robes, carrying broomsticks, and waving energetically.**

"**Your Quidditch team?" said Harry.**

"**The Chudley Cannons," said Ron,**

"He is." Remus grinned at his friend as Sirius brightened.

**pointing at the orange bedspread, which was emblazoned with two giant black C's and a speeding cannonball. "Ninth in the league."**

"They've moved up!" Sirius cheered making every Quidditch fan in the room groan; well everybody but Ron was excited to find another Cannons fan.

"Only you would like that disaster of a team." Regulus said disgusted with his brother.

**Ron's school spellbooks were stacked untidily in a corner, next to a pile of comics that all seemed to feature The Adventures of Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle. Ron's magic wand was lying on top of a fish tank full of frog spawn on the windowsill, next to his fat gray rat, Scabbers, who was snoozing in a patch of sun.**

Ron growled a little at the book as Aurora fisted her hand in Harry's robe trying to control her emotions.

"Relax, they will find out the truth about him soon enough." Harry whispered to his god sister trying to comfort her.

**Harry stepped over a pack of Self-Shuffling playing cards on the floor and looked out of the tiny window. In the field far below he could see a gang of gnomes sneaking one by one back through the Weasleys' hedge. Then he turned to look at Ron, who was watching him almost nervously, as though waiting for his opinion.**

"**It's a bit small," said Ron quickly. "Not like that room you had with the Muggles. And I'm right underneath the ghoul in the attic; he's always banging on the pipes and groaning…"**

**But Harry, grinning widely, said, "This is the best house I've ever been in."**

**Ron's ears went pink.**

"That's the end of the chapter." Neville said marking his place and closing the book.

**Wow only two chapters and already this story has 49 followers and 42 favorites! You guys are awesome!**

**Happy New Year's Eve everyone!**

**Please review let me know how you are liking it so far and thank you to everyone who reviewd before.**


	4. At Flourish and Blotts

"**At Flourish and Blotts," **Lily read shooting James a mournful look from the corner of her eyes. She hadn't meant to sound so scornful about his pranks; it had just come out that way. It was like she had been back in her fifth year all over again. Sighing sadly Lily continued reading; she would talk to him later that night.

**Life at the Burrow was as different as possible from life on Privet Drive. **

"Thank you." Ginny and Ron said together grinning at the Boy-Who-Lived.

**The Dursleys liked everything neat and ordered; the Weasleys' house burst with the strange and unexpected. Harry got a shock the first time he looked in the mirror over the kitchen mantelpiece and it shouted, "Tuck your shirt in, scruffy!" **

**The ghoul in the attic howled and dropped pipes whenever he felt things were getting too quiet, and small explosions from Fred and George's bedroom were considered perfectly normal. **

**What Harry found most unusual about life at Ron's, however, wasn't the talking mirror or the clanking ghoul: It was the fact that everybody there seemed to like him.**

"Like you? Mom loves you as if you were her own… more than her own on some days." Ginny laughed loudly trying to forget what happens at Flourish and Blotts.

"That's not funny… I once thought she would try to trade me in for him." Ron laughed only half joking.

**Mrs. Weasley fussed over the state of his socks and tried to force him to eat fourth helpings at every meal. Mr. Weasley liked Harry to sit next to him at the dinner table so that he could bombard him with questions about life with Muggles, asking him to explain how things like plugs and the postal service worked.**

"**Fascinating," he would say as Harry talked him through using a telephone. **

"Too bad you weren't there to listen to that particular lesson, right Ron?" Harry laughed ignoring the annoyed look Ron was shooting him.

"You're funny, Potter, really funny." Ron said glaring at his best mate with a deadpanned voice.

"I am aren't I?" Harry managed to say through his loud chuckles. Hermione and Aurora couldn't stop the eye rolls they made when Ron threw a stunning hex at Harry… which missed and hit Ginny instead.

"AGH!" Was the response Ron gave to Ginny's Bat-Bogey hex.

**"Ingenious, really, how many ways Muggles have found of getting along without magic."**

"It really is, in some ways Muggles are more advanced then wizards, especially in equal rights for all." Hermione said proudly.

Regulus sighed before saying as patiently as he could, "While Muggles are advanced in their thinking Hermione you have to admit that wasn't always the case. Their history is bloodier then ours, after all we have only had two wars in the past sixty years*." Sirius couldn't help but look impressed by his little brother, who knew Regulus knew so much about Muggle history.

"That may be true, but at least Muggles have seen the errors of their past and are making amends for them." Hermione sniffed.

"So are most wizards in our time Mione." Aurora said with a smile, she was thinking about Draco and her Aunt Narcissa; they had spent the past year trying to remake their family.

"Bu-"

"I think both Muggles and Wizards could learn something from each other," Luna said dreamily, "After all wasn't that the point of the war, to prove that one wasn't better than the other."

"You're right Luna, and I think we should all remember that." Harry said shooting Hermione a stern look.

**Harry heard from Hogwarts one sunny morning about a week after he had arrived at the Burrow. He and Ron went down to breakfast to find Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Ginny already sitting at the kitchen table. The moment she saw Harry, Ginny accidentally knocked her porridge bowl to the floor with a loud clatter.**

Ginny's loud groan helped to break the tension in the room as almost all the males laughed at the bight face girl.

**Ginny seemed very prone to knocking things over whenever Harry entered a room. She dived under the table to retrieve the bowl and emerged with her face glowing like the setting sun. **

Much like it was in that very moment, Harry kissing her softly didn't help her with controlling her blush.

**Pretending he hadn't noticed this, Harry sat down and took the toast Mrs. Weasley offered him.**

"You're better then James at that age, he wouldn't let the poor girl live it down." Remus said with a wide smile and Sirius let out a bark like laugh in agreement.

"Oh shut up both of you." James said glaring… and it would have been frightening if he wasn't laughing. Lily smiled glad that he was joking and laughing like always. She didn't like it when he was upset, it wasn't an emotion she related to him; to her James was always laughing, pulling pranks, and telling jokes only he thought were funny, but she loved him that way and she would make sure he knew that as often as she could.

**"Letters from school," said Mr. Weasley, passing Harry and Ron identical envelopes of yellowish parchment, addressed in green ink. "Dumbledore already knows you're here, Harry — doesn't miss a trick, that man.**

Severus snorted at that, "Of course he doesn't, he loves to spy on everyone." He mumbled under his breath.

**You two've got them, too," he added, as Fred and George ambled in, still in their pajamas.**

**For a few minutes there was silence as they all read their letters. Harry's told him to catch the Hogwarts Express as usual from King's Cross station on September first. There was also a list of the new books he'd need for the coming year.**

**SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS WILL REQUIRE:**

**The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2by Miranda Goshawk**

**Break with a Banshee by Gilderoy Lockhart**

**Gadding with Ghouls by Gilderoy Lockhart**

**Holidays with Hags by Gilderoy Lockhart**

**43 Travels with Trolls by Gilderoy Lockhart**

**Voyages with Vampires by Gilderoy Lockhart**

**Wanderings with Werewolves by Gilderoy Lockhart**

**Year with the Yeti by Gilderoy Lockhart**

"Bloody Hell." Every male from the past groaned looking disgusted.

"Seven books… that idiot wrote seven books and the new DADA teacher is making second years read them?" Regulus asked faintly, "I bet it's a Witch."

"I'm going to hate this year." Sirius muttered with his head down.

"You won't be the only one dad." Aurora said happily.

"Don't look so cheerful about it." Frank said frowning.

"Why?" Questioned Aurora before continuing by saying, "after all I already know how this book ends."

"You're mean." Everyone said together.

**Fred, who had finished his own list, peered over at Harry's.**

"**You've been told to get all Lockhart's books, too!" he said.**

"Oh you got to be kidding me!" Sirius shouted outraged, "Whoever Dumbledore got to be the new teacher this year is a right idiot."

"You have no idea." Everyone from the future said as one.

**"The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher must be a fan — bet it's a witch."**

"That's what I said!"

"Shut up Reg and let Lily read."

**At this point, Fred caught his mother's eye and quickly busied himself with the marmalade.**

"**That lot won't come cheap," said George, with a quick look at his parents. "Lockhart's books are really expensive…"**

"**Well, we'll manage," said Mrs. Weasley, but she looked worried. "I expect we'll be able to pick up a lot of Ginny's things secondhand."**

Ron and Ginny looked a little uncomfortable but reframed from saying anything at the pitying looks they were getting.

**"Oh, are you starting at Hogwarts this year?" Harry asked Ginny.**

**She nodded, blushing to the roots of her flaming hair, and put her elbow in the butter dish. **

Ron laughed, "You're lucky Fred and George never saw any of this, they never would have let you forget this."

Ginny smiled sadly before saying quietly, "I wish Fred was around to never let me forget this." Only Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Aurora heard what she said as they were the closest to her, and they all frowned sadly thinking about the people who died. When things started to shake Harry grabbed Auroras had and whispered to her, "You're not alone Rora, I promise you'll never be alone." Once everything calmed down they continued listening to Lily read.

**Fortunately no one saw this except Harry, because just then Ron's elder brother Percy walked in. He was already dressed, his Hogwarts prefect badge pinned to his sweater vest.**

Ron groaned and Ginny glared a little, but didn't say anything. Then again they didn't have to as both Sirius and Regulus muttered a not so quiet 'Git' for them.

"**Morning, all," said Percy briskly. "Lovely day."**

**He sat down in the only remaining chair but leapt up again almost immediately, pulling from underneath him a molting, gray feather duster — at least, that was what Harry thought it was, until he saw that it was breathing.**

"**Errol!" said Ron, taking the limp owl from Percy and extracting a letter from under its wing. "Finally— he's got Hermione's answer. I wrote to her saying we were going to try and rescue you from the Dursleys."**

"One of the oddest letters I had gotten from him that summer." Hermione laughed thinking back the panic attack she had that day thinking of all the ways they could get hurt or expose magic.

"One of them?" Neville asked with a small confused smile.

"Don't ask." Both Hermione and Ron said together, Hermione rolling her eyes and Ron blushing.

**He carried Errol to a perch just inside the back door and tried to stand him on it, but Errol flopped straight off again so Ron lay him on the draining board instead, muttering, "Pathetic." Then he ripped open Hermione's letter and read it out loud:**

_"**`Dear Ron, and Harry if you're there,**_

_"**`I hope everything went all right and that Harry is okay and that you didn't do anything illegal to get him out, Ron, because that would get Harry into trouble, too. I've been really worried and if Harry is all right, will you please let me know at once, but perhaps it would be better if you used a different owl because I think another delivery might finish your one off.**_

_"**I'm very busy with schoolwork, of course'— **_

**How can she be?" said Ron in horror. "We're on vacation! **

"Summer home work." Lily, Remus, and Hermione said together as if it were obvious.

—_**'and we're going to London next Wednesday to buy my new books. I heard from Aurora that she would also be there, why don't we meet in Diagon Alley? Let me know what's happening as soon as you can. **_

_**Love from Hermione.'"**_

**"Well, that fits in nicely, we can go and get all your things then, too," said Mrs. Weasley, starting to clear the table. "What're you all up to today?"**

**Harry, Ron, Fred, and George were planning to go up the hill to a small paddock the Weasleys owned. It was surrounded by trees that blocked it from view of the village below, meaning that they could practice Quidditch there, as long as they didn't fly too high.**

"You should invite your friends to Potter manor; it has its own Quidditch pitch." James said smiling widely at the mention of his favorite sport.

"It does?" Harry asked eyes wide.

"Yeah, my grandpa made it himself for my father when he made Quidditch Captain." James explained. Harry couldn't help but grin, he never knew there was a legacy in his family for being made Quidditch Captains.

**They couldn't use real Quidditch balls, which would have been hard to explain if they had escaped and flown away over the village; instead they threw apples for one another to catch. They took turns riding Harry's Nimbus Two Thousand, which was easily the best broom; Ron's old Shooting Star was often outstripped by passing butterflies.**

Ron blushed at some of the laughs he was getting.

"Don't worry Ron; all of this is in the past." Hermione whispered to her boyfriend before kissing him gently. Least to say that didn't help with his blush, but it did make him feel better.

**Five minutes later they were marching up the hill, broomsticks over their shoulders. They had asked Percy if he wanted to join them, but he had said he was busy. **

"Nobody should be too busy for Quidditch." Regulus and James said seriously.

**Harry had only seen Percy at mealtimes so far; he stayed shut in his room the rest of the time.**

**"Wish I knew what he was up to," said Fred, frowning. "He's not himself. His exam results came the day before you did; twelve O.W.L.s and he hardly gloated at all."**

Everyone laughed at this, even Severus couldn't help a chuckle.

"**Ordinary Wizarding Levels," George explained, seeing Harry's puzzled look. "Bill got twelve, too. If we're not careful, we'll have another Head Boy in the family. I don't think I could stand the shame."**

"Not all Head Boys are bad!" James exclaimed offended.

"Of course not mate… just big headed." Sirius said laughing wrapping his arm around Marlene.

"Shut up… you have a bigger head then I do Padfoot." James said glaring at his best friend.

"I believe the size of your heads are about the same size, with maybe an inch or two in difference." Remus said thoughtfully before bursting out a loud and deep laugh when both his friends tossed pillows at him.

**Bill was the oldest Weasley brother. He and the next brother, Charlie, had already left Hogwarts. Harry had never met either of them, but knew that Charlie was in Romania studying dragons and Bill was in Egypt working for the wizard's bank, Gringotts.**

"**Dunno how Mum and Dad are going to afford all our school stuff this year," said George after a while. "Five sets of Lockhart books! And Ginny needs robes and a wand and everything…"**

Ginny and Ron smiled at this; George always did have a big heart.

**Harry said nothing. He felt a bit awkward. Stored in an underground vault at Gringotts in London was a small fortune that his parents had left him. Of course, it was only in the wizarding world that he had money; you couldn't use Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts in Muggle shops. He had never mentioned his Gringotts bank account to the Dursleys; he didn't think their horror of anything connected with magic would stretch to a large pile of gold.**

**Mrs. Weasley woke them all early the following Wednesday. After a quick half a dozen bacon sandwiches each, they pulled on their coats and Mrs. Weasley took a flowerpot off the kitchen mantelpiece and peered inside.**

"**We're running low, Arthur," she sighed. "We'll have to buy some more today… Ah well, guests first! After you, Harry dear!"**

"But Harry has never traveled by Floo before." Alice muttered confused.

"Well this will be interesting then." Regulus laughed, "Wont it Sirius."

"Quiet brother or I'll tell everyone about the first time you used the Floo on our own." Sirius said with a challenge in his eye.

"You wouldn't." Regulus whispered with a glare. When Sirius just smirked Regulus knew his brother would do just that so he hurriedly ushered Lily to keep reading.

**And she offered him the flowerpot.**

**Harry stared at them all watching him.**

"**W-what am I supposed to do?" he stammered.**

"**He's never traveled by Floo powder," said Ron suddenly. "Sorry, Harry, I forgot."**

"**Never?" said Mr. Weasley. "But how did you get to Diagon Alley to buy your school things last year?"**

"**I went on the Underground —"**

**"Really?" said Mr. Weasley eagerly. "Were there escapators? How exactly —"**

Everyone who knew Arthur smiled fondly at his comment.

"**Not now, Arthur," said Mrs. Weasley. "Floo powder's a lot quicker, dear, but goodness me, if you've never used it before —"**

"**He'll be all right, Mum," said Fred. "Harry, watch us first."**

**He took a pinch of glittering powder out of the flowerpot, stepped up to the fire, and threw the powder into the flames.**

**With a roar, the fire turned emerald green and rose higher than Fred, who stepped right into it, shouted, "Diagon Alley!" and vanished.**

"**You must speak clearly, dear," Mrs. Weasley told Harry as George dipped his hand into the flowerpot. "And be sure to get out at the right grate…"**

"**The right what?" said Harry nervously as the fire roared and whipped George out of sight, too.**

"**Well, there are an awful lot of wizard fires to choose from, you know, but as long as you've spoken clearly —"**

"**He'll be fine, Molly, don't fuss," said Mr. Weasley, helping himself to Floo powder too.**

"**But, dear, if he got lost, how would we ever explain it to his aunt and uncle?"**

"Like they would care." James said bitterly.

"**They wouldn't mind," Harry reassured her. "Dudley would think it was a brilliant joke if I got lost up a chimney, don't worry about that —"**

"**Well… all right… you go after Arthur," said Mrs. Weasley. "Now, when you get into the fire, say where you're going."**

"**And keep your elbows tucked in," Ron advised.**

"**And your eyes shut," said Mrs. Weasley. "The soot —"**

"**Don't fidget," said Ron. "Or you might well fall out of the wrong fireplace —"**

"**But don't panic and get out too early; wait until you see Fred and George."**

"They are only going to make him more nervous like that." Frank said shaking his head.

**Trying hard to bear all this in mind, Harry took a pinch of Floo powder and walked to the edge of the fire. He took a deep breath, scattered the powder into the flames, and stepped forward; the fire felt like a warm breeze; he opened his mouth and immediately swallowed a lot of hot ash.**

"Well that's not going to end well." Remus said feeling slightly amused at the boys luck.

"**D-Dia-gon Alley," he coughed.**

"Yeah not well at all."

**It felt as though he was being sucked down a giant drain. He seemed to be spinning very fast — the roaring in his ears was deafening — he tried to keep his eyes open but the whirl of green flames made him feel sick —something hard knocked his elbow and he tucked it in tightly, still spinning and spinning — now it felt as though cold hands were slapping his face — squinting through his glasses he saw a blurred stream of fireplaces and snatched glimpses of the rooms beyond — his bacon sandwiches were churning inside him — he closed his eyes again wishing it would stop, and then…**

"Wow, you are very accurate in your descriptions." Frank said impressed.

"It's like you notice things that others take for granted." Alice said thoughtfully fully agreeing with her boyfriend.

Harry smiled before saying, "yeah, that skill has come in handy a few times." Ron, Hermione, and Aurora snorted at the understatement but didn't say anything otherwise.

**He fell, face forward, onto cold stone and felt the bridge of his glasses snap.**

Lily interrupted herself by saying nervously, "Were you alright?"

"Don't worry mum, I was just fine."

"So where did you end up?" James asked slightly worried.

Harry grimaced and started to scratch the back of his head, "Keep reading mum."

"I'm not going to like this am I?" James said with narrowed eyes.

"Not at all."

**Dizzy and bruised, covered in soot, he got gingerly to his feet, holding his broken glasses up to his eyes. He was quite alone, but where he was, he had no idea. All he could tell was that he was standing in the stone fireplace of what looked like a large, dimly lit wizard's shop — but nothing in here was ever likely to be on a Hogwarts school list.**

**A glass case nearby held a withered hand on a cushion, a bloodstained pack of cards, and a staring glass eye. Evil-looking masks stared down from the walls, an assortment of human bones lay upon the counter, and rusty, spiked instruments hung from the ceiling. Even worse, the dark, narrow street Harry could see through the dusty shop window was definitely not Diagon Alley.**

Sirius and Regulus looked surprised and Sirius couldn't help but say, "How the bloody hell did you end up there?"

"Where?" James asked at once getting even more anxious after his friends outburst.

"Ummm, I'm not sure I want to be the one to tell you so why don't you keep reading Lily." Sirius said sheepishly. Marlene raised an eyebrow at her boyfriend wondering what had him so nervous, but all he did was shake his head not answering her silent question.

**The sooner he got out of here, the better.**

"Got that right." Regulus muttered under his breath not wanting to interrupt Lily who was holding onto the book pretty tightly. He would rather she snap at someone else for interrupting her.

**Nose still stinging where it had hit the hearth, Harry made his way swiftly and silently toward the door, but before he'd got halfway toward it, three people appeared on the other side of the glass.**

"Who is it?" James couldn't stop the question from slipping through his lips.

Lily knowing she was already walking a thin line with James after her last stupid statement said as sweetly as she could, "James if you could please let me read I'm sure we will find out exactly where our son is and who is about to walk in the shop."

James frowned but otherwise didn't comment allowing Lily to keep reading.

**The first person he saw was none other than one of his best friend Aurora Black,**

"What the bloody hell are you doing there young lady?" Sirius shouted his heart pounding at the thought of his twelve year old daughter in a place like that. Marlene, James, and Lily immediately tensed at Sirius's worried look.

"Why you yelling at me about something I can't change?" Aurora asked utterly confused.

"Because I can't yell at the you in the book." Sirius answered in an annoyed manner.

"Well stop it." Sirius was about to continue with his rant but Marlene who was a hair away from a full on panic attack grabbed his hand and pulled him down so Lily could keep reading.

**she look almost the same as the last time he saw her only difference was that now she was wearing fingerless gloves and her hair was maybe an inch longer — and the other one of them was the very last person Harry wanted to meet when he was lost, covered in soot, and wearing broken glasses: Draco Malfoy. **

"Great that means Lucius isn't far behind." Regulus sighed relieved.

"How is that a good thing?" Severus asked with a raised eyebrow.

"An ass he may be, but he would never let his son be hurt so by default Aurora is safe there with him…. I hope." Regulus answered.

"I don't think that was very reassuring." Luna said mindlessly looking at the tense parents.

"I don't think anything will reassure them until both Harry and Aurora are out of there Luna." Neville said with a small smile.

Luna hummed in agreement but otherwise didn't say anything more.

**Harry looked quickly around and spotted a large black cabinet to his left; he shot inside it and pulled the doors closed, leaving a small crack to peer through.**

The ones from the future shared a tense glance at that, all of them thinking the same thing, 'what would have happened if he had closed the door?'

**He didn't mind Aurora seeing him but he didn't want Malfoy to know he got lost in the floo. **

Aurora couldn't help but laugh just at the thought of her cousin hearing about that. Harry rolled his eyes and reached for a one of the seat pillows before gently hitting Aurora on the back of her head.

**Seconds later, a bell clanged, and Malfoy stepped into the shop followed by Aurora.**

**The man who followed could only be Draco's father. **

"Told you he wouldn't be far behind." Regulus smiled trying to ease his brothers mind, but Sirius didn't see anything remotely good about his daughter being anywhere near Lucius Malfoy. He wouldn't be satisfied until Aurora was far away from Knockturn Ally.

**He had the same pale, pointed face and identical cold, gray eyes. Mr. Malfoy crossed the shop, looking lazily at the items on display, and rang a bell on the counter before turning to his son and saying, "Touch nothing, Draco, Aurora."**

"Never though I'll say this, but listen to Malfoy Aurora." Marlene said grimacing at the words she said.

"It is so wrong to hear someone say those words." said Remus looking a little amused. To him this was only a small matter compared to some of the other situations these two got themselves in.

"It's wrong for anyone to say those words." Ron uttered not bothering to hide his hatred from his voice.

**Malfoy, who had reached for the glass eye, said, "I thought you were going to buy me a present."**

"I don't think he meant from there boy." Severus sneered tired already from Draco's whining.

"**I said I would buy you a racing broom," said his father, drumming his fingers on the counter.**

"**What's the good of that if I'm not on the House team?" said Malfoy, looking sulky and bad-tempered. Aurora sighed and rolled her eyes muttering something that sounded like "Here we go again."**

"You have no idea how many times I had to hear him complain about us that summer." Aurora said rolling her eyes very much the same way she did in the book.

**"Harry Potter got a Nimbus Two Thousand last year. Special permission from Dumbledore so he could play for Gryffindor. He's not even that good, it's just because he's **_**famous**_**… famous for having a stupid **_**scar**_** on his forehead…"** **Malfoy bent down to examine a shelf full of skulls.**

"Being famous isn't something he wanted you stupid ferret." Ginny uttered utterly annoyed. Harry smiled and wrapped his arm around her to sooth her before she started to hex things.

"… **everyone thinks he's so **_**smart**_**, wonderful **_**Potter**_** with his **_**scar **_**and his **_**broomstick**_** —" Malfoy didn't notice Aurora mimicking him behind his back, stopping every time he turned around. **

Everyone laughed at this, even Aurora couldn't help the giggle that escaped her. She always did enjoy making her cousin mad it was fun watching his pale face turn pink.

"**You have told us this at least a dozen times already," said Mr. Malfoy, with a quelling look at his son and slapping Aurora on the back of her head to get her to stop mocking Draco.**

"Don't touch her!" Marlene and Sirius yelled outraged.

Aurora couldn't help but roll her eyes, "Calm down guys…. He does that so often it didn't even hurt." But that was the wrong thing to say as Remus and Regulus both joined her parents in their heated glaring.

Lily shifted a little feeling uncomfortable holding the book so many people were shooting daggers at. James smiled at Lily's nervous movements and wrapped his arm around her, while he was still upset over her earlier comment he could never stay mad at his Lily.

**"And I would remind you that it is not — prudent — to appear less than fond of Harry Potter, not when most of our kind regard him as the hero who made the Dark Lord disappear — ah, Mr. Borgin."**

"Seems like he doesn't change much in the future." Severus said rolling his eyes.

"A Malfoy will always care about their image, no matter what the situation." Regulus said in complete agreement with his longtime friend.

"Wait a minute, Mr. Borgin? Like from Knockturn Ally Mr. Borgin!?" James yelled surprising everyone in the room.

"Mate… did you just figure that out?" Remus asked unsurely.

"Yes!"

"…. You really are idiot." Severus sneered.

Lily sensing a fight coming hurriedly continued with the story.

**A stooping man had appeared behind the counter, smoothing his greasy hair back from his face.**

"**Mr. Malfoy, what a pleasure to see you again," said Mr. Borgin in a voice as oily as his hair. "Delighted — and young Master Malfoy and Lady Black, too — charmed. How may I be of assistance? I must show you, just in today, and very reasonably priced —"**

"**I'm not buying today, Mr. Borgin, but selling," said Mr. Malfoy.**

"Borgin won't like that." Sirius said before asking his daughter, "How does he know you?"

"Borgin has been to Malfoy Manor a couple times, I met him over the summer before my first year." Aurora answered shrugging her shoulders, while she didn't partially like the man, she didn't think he was very dangerous either.

"**Selling?" The smile faded slightly from Mr. Borgin's face.**

"**You have heard, of course, that the Ministry is conducting more raids," said Mr. Malfoy, taking a roll of parchment from his inside pocket and unraveling it for Mr. Borgin to read. "I have a few — ah — items at home that might embarrass me, if the Ministry were to call…"**

"Ha! He's worried." Ron sneered delighted with anything that made Malfoy nervous.

**Mr. Borgin fixed a pair of pince-nez to his nose and looked down the list.**

"**The Ministry wouldn't presume to trouble you, sir, surely?"**

"With the influence they hold today they wouldn't dare, but it seems like some things have changed in the future." Frank said with a small smug smile.

"Let's hope so. My dad has wanted to get Abraxas Malfoy for something for years." James replied with a much bigger smile on his face. Harry frowned and looked away from his father, from the records Harry had looked up after the war; his grandfather had been killed by Abraxas Malfoy during the first war. The killing had been covered up for years until Lucius confessed the truth under Veritaserum when asked about other crimes his family had done.

'Hopefully this time will be different' Harry thought with a sigh.

**Mr. Malfoy's lip curled.**

"**I have not been visited yet. The name Malfoy still commands a certain respect, yet the Ministry grows ever more meddlesome. There are rumors about a new Muggle Protection Act — no doubt that flea-bitten, Muggle-loving fool Arthur Weasley is behind it —"**

"Hey!" Everyone who knew Arthur Weasley yelled out.

"My dad is worth a hundred of you, you bastard!" Ginny snarled with so much venom in her voice she surprised ever Harry.

"Ginny maybe you should relax." Hermione said calmly knowing full well that Ginny had every right to be bitter.

"I'll relax when this blasted book is over." Ginny uttered before curling herself around Harry.

**Harry felt a hot surge of anger.**

"— **and as you see, certain of these poisons might make it **_**appear**_** —"**

"**I understand, sir, of course," said Mr. Borgin. "Let me see…"**

"**Can I have **_**that**_**?" interrupted Draco, pointing at the withered hand on its cushion.**

"Why would he want that?" Alice questioned with a grimace.

"Because he's an idiot… and a boy." Aurora answered simply.

"**Eww! Why on earth would you want that? It looks like someone ate it and then spat it back out." Aurora said gagging.**

Aurora's friends and family laughed fondly at the younger Aurora reaction to the hand.

"Well it did." Aurora pouted.

"I'm sure it did." Hermione said with a smile. It was nice for her to see Aurora like she used to be, like before everything happened.

"**Ah, the Hand of Glory!" said Mr. Borgin, abandoning Mr. Malfoy's list and scurrying over to Draco while shooting a brief glare at Aurora. "Insert a candle and it gives light only to the holder! Best friend of thieves and plunderers! Your son has fine taste, sir."**

Sirius laughed before saying, "Malfoy is going to love that."

**Malfoy shot a smug look to the small girl next to him who grumbled something before moving away from the Hand of Glory. **

"**I hope my son will amount to more than a thief or a plunderer, Borgin," said Mr. Malfoy coldly, and Mr. Borgin said quickly, "No offense, sir, no offense meant —"**

"**Though if his grades don't pick up," said Mr. Malfoy, more coldly still, "that may indeed be all he is fit for —"**

**Aurora stuck her tongue out at him behind Mr. Malfoy's back. **

"Here we go." Aurora whispered to herself while rolling her eyes. She knew that what came next would cause Hermione's head to explode.

"**It's not my fault," retorted Draco glaring at Aurora. "The teachers all have favorites, that Hermione Granger —"**

"**I would have thought you'd be ashamed that a girl of no wizard family beat you in every exam," snapped Mr. Malfoy.**

"Like that matters!" Lily yelled out interrupting herself.

"We know it doesn't love, but Malfoy has always been an idiot so you shouldn't bother paying him any attention." James said trying to calm Lily down before she started on a rant.

**"Ha!" said Harry under his breath, pleased to see Draco looking both abashed and angry.**

"**Be glad that Aurora managed to be top of her year or I would have to start thinking a simple mudblood could make a fool out of a pure blood." Mr. Malfoy sneered. **

"You beat me?" Hermione asked shocked, Aurora had never said she had higher scores then her.

"Only by a little." Aurora answered sheepishly trying to ignore how Sirius and Marlene were beaming proudly at her.

Even though Hermione tried to hide it the annoyance in her voice was still heard when she asked "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I wanted to avoid having a discussion just like this one." Aurora answered before taking a calming breath. She understood that Hermione always wanted to be the best at everything, but she was not about to let her friend make her feel bad for doing better than her on a stupid test. Not anymore

"Bu-"

"No Hermione, this happened years ago, let it go." Aurora interrupted with a glare, a glare that went away when Harry put a reassuring arm around her shoulders. He had notice the item in the room start to shake and he knew he needed to calm his friend before she did something she would regret.

Hermione had also notice how close to the edge her friend was so she backed off, but that didn't make her feel any better, not even when Ron grabbed her hand did she relax. She loved Aurora but she was so tired of her getting everything without even trying while she tried so much and got ridiculed for it.

Lily waited for a couple minutes for everyone to calm down.

"**It's the same all over," said Mr. Borgin, in his oily voice. "Wizard blood is counting for less everywhere —"**

"**Not with me," said Mr. Malfoy, his long nostrils flaring.**

Sirius and Regulus snorted at this, "Of course not."

"**No, sir, nor with me, sir," said Mr. Borgin, with a deep bow shooting another glare at Aurora when she snorted. **

This made all three Blacks smile a little.

"**In that case, perhaps we can return to my list," said Mr. Malfoy shortly shooting his own unreadable look towards Aurora.**

"Stop glaring at the book Dad, it won't change anything." Aurora sighed.

"But it makes me feel better."

**"I am in something of a hurry, Borgin, I have important business elsewhere today —"**

**They started to haggle. Harry watched nervously as Draco drew nearer and nearer to his hiding place, examining the objects for sale. Draco paused to examine a long coil of hangman's rope and to read, smirking, the card propped on a magnificent necklace of opals, _Caution: Do Not Touch. Cursed — Has Claimed the Lives of Nineteen Muggle Owners to Date._**

Again everyone from the future shuddered and Aurora closed her eyes in guilt. She should have been able to stop Draco from hurting anyone.

**Draco turned away and saw the cabinet right in front of him. **

**He walked forward — he stretched out his hand for the handle "Done," said Mr. Malfoy at the counter. "Come, Draco, Aurora —"**

**Harry wiped his forehead on his sleeve as Draco turned away.**

"Yes, because it would have been the end of the world if he caught you." Ginny rolled her eyes at her boyfriend while smiling widely.

"Back then, to me, it was." Was the simple answer Harry gave with a shrug of his shoulders.

"**Good day to you, Mr. Borgin. I'll expect you at the manor tomorrow to pick up the goods."**

**The moment the door had closed, Mr. Borgin dropped his oily manner.**

"**Good day yourself, Mister Malfoy, and if the stories are true, you haven't sold me half of what's hidden in your manor…" **

"Oh please," Regulus scoffed to himself, "he hasn't even sold you one percent."

**Muttering darkly, Mr. Borgin disappeared into a back room. Harry waited for a minute in case he came back, then, quietly as he could, slipped out of the cabinet, past the glass cases, and out of the shop door.**

**Clutching his broken glasses to his face, Harry stared around. He had emerged into a dingy alleyway that seemed to be made up entirely of shops devoted to the Dark Arts. The one he'd just left, Borgin and Burkes, looked like the largest, but opposite was a nasty window display of shrunken heads and, two doors down, a large cage was alive with gigantic black spiders. **

"Spiders there always have to be spiders." Ron muttered darkly.

**Two shabby-looking wizards were watching him from the shadow of a doorway, muttering to each other. Feeling jumpy, Harry set off, trying to hold his glasses on straight and hoping against hope he'd be able to find a way out of here.**

**An old wooden street sign hanging over a shop selling poisonous candles told him he was in Knockturn Alley. This didn't help, as Harry had never heard of such a place. He supposed he hadn't spoken clearly enough through his mouthful of ashes back in the Weasleys' fire. Trying to stay calm, he wondered what to do.**

"**Not lost are you, my dear?" said a voice in his ear, making him jump.**

"Stay calm and walk away." James advised his son in an anything but calm voice.

"Thanks dad."

**An aged witch stood in front of him, holding a tray of what looked horribly like whole human fingernails. She leered at him, showing mossy teeth. Harry backed away.**

"**I'm fine, thanks," he said. "I'm just —"**

"**HARRY! What d'yeh think yer doin' down there?"**

Everyone from the past including Severus let out a relived sigh, only one person they knew talked like that.

Hagrid.

"At least you will be safe now." James said smiling.

**Harry's heart leapt. So did the witch; a load of fingernails cascaded down over her feet and she cursed as the massive form of Hagrid, **

"Lovely" Marlene snorted.

**the Hogwarts' gamekeeper, came striding toward them, beetle-black eyes flashing over his great bristling beard.**

"**Hagrid!" Harry croaked in relief. "I was lost — Floo powder —"**

Now that Harry was out of danger James laughed amused about his sons predicament, "And this is why Potter's hate traveling by Floo powder."

Harry laughed along with his father before responding, "Good to know my misfortune of traveling by any other method except flying comes from my family."

"Well your father side of the family, I actually enjoy going places by Floo." Lily said smiling at her family.

"Traitor." Both Harry and James said as on making everyone laugh along with them.

**Hagrid seized Harry by the scruff of the neck and pulled him away from the witch, knocking the tray right out of her hands. Her shrieks followed them all the way along the twisting alleyway out into bright sunlight. Harry saw a familiar, snow-white marble building in the distance — Gringotts Bank. Hagrid had steered him right into Diagon Alley.**

"**Yer a mess!" said Hagrid gruffly; brushing soot off Harry so forcefully he nearly knocked him into a barrel of dragon dung outside an apothecary. **

Harry's friend burst out laughing as Harry grimaced, "Yeah I got lucky there."

"**Skulkin' around Knockturn Alley, I dunno dodgy place, Harry — don' want no one ter see yeh down there —"**

"**I realized that," said Harry, ducking as Hagrid made to brush him off again. "I told you, I was lost — what were you doing down there, anyway?"**

"**I was lookin' fer a Flesh-Eatin' Slug Repellent," growled Hagrid. "They're ruinin' the school cabbages. Yer not on yer own?"**

"**I'm staying with the Weasleys but we got separated," Harry explained. "I've got to go and find them…"**

"Molly's probably going out of her mind." Alice said sympathetically.

"She was." Ginny said with a small fond smile thinking about her mother.

**They set off together down the street.**

"**How come yeh never wrote back ter me?" said Hagrid as Harry jogged alongside him (he had to take three steps to every stride of Hagrid's enormous boots). Harry explained all about Dobby and the Dursleys.**

"**Lousy Muggles," growled Hagrid. "If I'd've known —"**

"He would have given them all pigs' tails." Sirius said with a wide smirk.

"I wish." Harry said laughing.

"**Harry! Harry! Over here!"**

**Harry looked up and saw Hermione Granger standing at the top of the white flight of steps to Gringotts. She ran down to meet them, her bushy brown hair flying behind her.**

Hermione groaned at her description and sent a pillow flying towards Harry.

"Don't get mad at me… I didn't write the book." Harry laughed while getting out of the way.

"No but they are your thoughts!"

"**What happened to your glasses? Hello, Hagrid — Oh, it's wonderful to see you two again — Are you coming into Gringotts, Harry?"**

"**As soon as I've found the Weasleys," said Harry.**

"**Yeh won't have long ter wait," Hagrid said with a grin.**

**Harry and Hermione looked around: Sprinting up the crowded street were Ron, Fred, George, Percy, and Mr. Weasley.**

"Oh good you found them." Alice smiled relaxing a little.

"**Harry," Mr. Weasley panted. "We hoped you'd only gone one grate too far…" He mopped his glistening bald patch. "Molly's frantic — she's coming now —"**

"**Where did you come out?" Ron asked.**

"**Knockturn Alley," said Hagrid grimly.**

"**Excellent!" said Fred and George together.**

"Not Excellent." James said frowning, he could help but shudder just thinking about how his son could have hurt.

"**We've never been allowed in," said Ron enviously.**

"**I should ruddy well think not," growled Hagrid. Mrs. Weasley now came galloping into view, her handbag swinging wildly in one hand, Ginny just clinging onto the other.**

"**Oh, Harry — oh, my dear — you could have been anywhere —"**

**Gasping for breath she pulled a large clothes brush out of her bag and began sweeping off the soot Hagrid hadn't managed to beat away. Mr. Weasley took Harry's glasses, gave them a tap of his wand, and returned them, good as new.**

"That is a very useful spell to know." Harry said grinning.

"Yeah especially for you." Aurora teased her friend making him pout.

"**Well, gotta be off," said Hagrid, who was having his hand wrung by Mrs. Weasley ("Knockturn Alley! If you hadn't found him, Hagrid!"). "See yer at Hogwarts!" And he strode away, head and shoulders taller than anyone else in the packed street.**

"**Guess who I saw in Borgin and Burkes?" Harry asked Ron and Hermione as they climbed the Gringotts steps. "Aurora, Malfoy and his father."**

"**Did Lucius Malfoy buy anything?" said Mr. Weasley sharply behind them.**

"**No, he was selling —"**

"**So he's worried," said Mr. Weasley with grim satisfaction. "Oh, I'd love to get Lucius Malfoy for something…"**

Everyone from the past laughed Arthur and Lucius had never liked each other.

"**You be careful, Arthur," said Mrs. Weasley sharply as they were bowed into the bank by a goblin at the door. "That family's trouble. Don't go biting off more than you can chew —"**

All the males in the room winced at that.

"That was harsh." Remus uttered shaking his head at Molly's words.

"Arthur is more than enough to take on Malfoy." James said confidently.

"**So you don't think I'm a match for Lucius Malfoy?" said Mr. Weasley indignantly, but he was distracted almost at once by the sight of Hermione's parents, who were standing nervously at the counter that ran all along the great marble hall, waiting for Hermione to introduce them.**

"**But you're Muggles!" said Mr. Weasley delightedly. "We must have a drink! What's that you've got there? Oh, you're changing Muggle money. Molly, look!" He pointed excitedly at the ten-pound notes in Mr. Granger's hand.**

"He may want to take it easy." Lily grinned interrupting herself.

Hermione laughed before saying, "My parents were very nervous, Mr. Weasley whiles a little over excited help them calm down a lot."

"Arthur has always been like that." Sirius chuckled fondly.

"**Meet you back here," Ron said to Hermione as the Weasleys and Harry were led off to their underground vaults by another Gringotts goblin.**

**The vaults were reached by means of small, goblin-driven carts that sped along miniature train tracks through the bank's underground tunnels. Harry enjoyed the breakneck journey down to the Weasleys' vault, but felt dreadful, far worse than he had in Knockturn Alley, when it was opened. There was a very small pile of silver Sickles inside, and just one gold Galleon. Mrs. Weasley felt right into the corners before sweeping the whole lot into her bag. Harry felt even worse when they reached his vault. He tried to block the contents from view as he hastily shoved handfuls of coins into a leather bag.**

**Back outside on the marble steps, they all separated. Percy muttered vaguely about needing a new quill. Fred and George had spotted their friend from Hogwarts, Lee Jordan. Mrs. Weasley and Ginny were going to a secondhand robe shop. Mr. Weasley was insisting on taking the Grangers off to the Leaky Cauldron for a drink.**

"**We'll all meet at Flourish and Blotts in an hour to buy your schoolbooks," said Mrs. Weasley, setting off with Ginny. "And not one step down Knockturn Alley!" she shouted at the twins' retreating backs.**

**Harry, Ron, and Hermione strolled off along the winding, cobbled street. The bag of gold, silver, and bronze jangling cheerfully in Harry's pocket was clamoring to be spent, so he bought three large strawberry-and-peanut-butter ice creams, **

"Where's mine?" Aurora asked with a pout.

Harry laughed before he answered, "Next time we got to Diagon Alley I'll buy you one alright."

"You better."

**which they slurped happily as they wandered up the alley, examining the fascinating shop windows. Ron gazed longingly at a full set of Chudley Cannon robes in the windows of Quality Quidditch Supplies until Hermione dragged them off to buy ink and parchment next door. In Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop, they met Fred, George, and Lee Jordan, who were stocking up on Dr. Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks, and in a tiny junk shop full of broken wands, lopsided brass scales, and old cloaks covered in potion stains they found Percy, deeply immersed in a small and deeply boring book called Prefects Who Gained Power.**

"**A study of Hogwarts prefects and their later careers," Ron read aloud off the back cover. "That sounds fascinating…"**

"That sounds boring." Every male in the room said as one.

"**Go away," Percy snapped.**

"'**Course, he's very ambitious, Percy, he's got it all planned out… He wants to be Minister of Magic…" Ron told Harry and Hermione in an undertone as they left Percy to it.**

"He doesn't seem like the typical Gryffindor." Severus muttered to Regulus so that the other red heads in the room wouldn't hear him. Regulus snorted in agreement but didn't say anything otherwise.

**An hour later, they headed for Flourish and Blotts. They were by no means the only ones making their way to the bookshop. As they approached it, they saw to their surprise a large crowd jostling outside the doors, trying to get in. The reason for this was proclaimed by a large banner stretched across the upper windows:**

**GILDEROY LOCKHART**

The groan that passed through the room was instantaneous and filled with contempt.

**will be signing copies of his autobiography**

"Who would want one?" Sirius sneered not seeing both his daughter and Hermione blushing at his comment.

"There were a few." Hermione said trying to sound aloof. It didn't work.

"Let me guess… you were one of them?" Frank said smiling at the blushing girl.

"Well in her defense, and in those poor _clueless_ women's defense, they didn't know that he was a fake." Aurora said putting more force when she said the word clueless.

"Yeah," Harry said in agreement shooting his two friends a teasing look, "They should be forgiven for their temporary insanity."

"They really should." Hermione and Aurora said together nodding their heads as they said it.

"Darling, please don't tell me you _liked _that man?" Marlene asked as she laughed at her daughters red face.

"Only for a second, and then I met the man and I was cured I promise!" Aurora said earnestly. She couldn't help but shudder as she remembered asking him to sign her copy of Magical me. Everyone in the room laughed, including Hermione who had already forgiven Aurora for not telling her about her grades. It was pretty silly being mad about something that happened so long ago.

"You people are mean." Aurora pouted.

**MAGICAL ME**

**today 12:30P. 4:30P.M.**

"**We can actually meet him!" Hermione squealed. "I mean, he's written almost the whole booklist!"**

"Do not say a word." Hermione said through clenched teeth. But nobody needed to say something to laugh.

"It's alright love; they will start teasing someone else soon enough." Ron said with laughter in his voice.

"Can't wait." Hermione sarcastically said.

**The crowd seemed to be made up mostly of witches around Mrs. Weasley's age. A harassed-looking wizard stood at the door, saying, "Calmly, please, ladies… Don't push, there… mind the books, now…"**

"Unbelievable." All the males from the past said shaking their heads.

**Harry, Ron, and Hermione squeezed inside. A long line wound right to the back of the shop, where Gilderoy Lockhart was signing his books. They each grabbed a copy of The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 and sneaked up the line to where the rest of the Weasleys were standing with Mr. and Mrs. Granger.**

"**Oh, there you are, good," said Mrs. Weasley. She sounded breathless and kept patting her hair. "We'll be able to see him in a minute…"**

Sirius rolled his eyes at the words Lily was reading.

**Gilderoy Lockhart came slowly into view, seated at a table surrounded by large pictures of his own face, all winking and flashing dazzlingly white teeth at the crowd. The real Lockhart was wearing robes of forget-me-not blue that exactly matched his eyes; his pointed wizard's hat was set at a jaunty angle on his wavy hair.**

"Hasn't changed much has he?" Marlene said trying and failing to hold her giggles.

"I wonder if he still flips his hair when talking to someone." Alice questioned laughing along with her friend.

"Or what when he walks in front of a girl making her drop her books just to help her pick them up?" Lily said smiling.

Sirius, Frank, and James frowned at their girlfriends making them burst out laughing.

"You three need to relax a little." Lily said after she calmed down enough to talk.

**A short, irritable-looking man was dancing around taking photographs with a large black camera that emitted puffs of purple smoke with every blinding flash.**

"**Out of the way, there," he snarled at Ron, moving back to get a better shot. "This is for the Daily Prophet —"**

"**Big deal," said Ron, rubbing his foot where the photographer had stepped on it.**

"Thanks for that mate." Harry said with a mocking glare.

"Anytime mate." Ron answered with a wide smile.

**Gilderoy Lockhart heard him. He looked up. He saw Ron — and then he saw Harry. He stared. Then he leapt to his feet and positively shouted, "It can't be Harry Potter?"**

"Oh great," James said frowning, "The git has spotted him.

**The crowd parted, whispering excitedly; Lockhart dived forward, seized Harry's arm, and pulled him to the front. The crowd burst into applause. Harry's face burned as Lockhart shook his hand for the photographer, who was clicking away madly, wafting thick smoke over the Weasleys.**

"**Nice big smile, Harry," said Lockhart, through his own gleaming teeth. "Together, you and I are worth the front page."**

"Harry is worth that by himself you idiot." Regulus sneered glaring at the book.

**When he finally let go of Harry's hand, Harry could hardly feel his fingers. He tried to sidle back over to the Weasleys, but Lockhart threw an arm around his shoulders and clamped him tightly to his side.**

"Oh just let him go." Remus said rolling his eyes.

"He couldn't do that Remus, having Harry there with him probably raised his book sales." Sirius said bitterly, couldn't his Godson get a break.

"**Ladies and gentlemen," he said loudly, waving for quiet. "What an extraordinary moment this is! The perfect moment for me to make a little announcement I've been sitting on for some time!**

"**When young Harry here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, he only wanted to buy my autobiography — which I shall be happy to present him now, free of charge —" The crowd applauded again. **

"Oh please."

"**He had no idea," Lockhart continued, giving Harry a little shake that made his glasses slip to the end of his nose, "that he would shortly be getting much, much more than my book, Magical Me. He and his schoolmates will, in fact, be getting the real magical me. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"**

"NO!" Every male from the past yelled together as the girls shared a horrified look.

"Trust us, we didn't enjoy it either." Ron said with a snort.

"Tell me about it, my ears hurt for weeks after that first class." Neville said while rubbing his ear remembering the pain.

"Dumbledore has lost his bloody mind." Sirius said staring wide eye at the book.

**The crowd cheered and clapped and Harry found himself being presented with the entire works of Gilderoy Lockhart. Staggering slightly under their weight, he managed to make his way out of the limelight to the edge of the room, where Ginny was standing next to her new cauldron.**

"**You have these," Harry mumbled to her, tipping the books into the cauldron. "I'll buy my own —"**

"Thank you for that." Ginny smiled at her boyfriend and gave him a small peck on the lips.

"**Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter?" said a voice Harry had no trouble recognizing.**

"Great, git Jr is there." Regulus muttered to himself rolling his eyes.

**He straightened up and found himself face-to-face with Draco Malfoy, who was wearing his usual sneer, he almost didn't see Aurora behind him.**

"Geez, good to know it's so easy for people to ignore me." Aurora said with a mock glare pointed at Harry.

"Well, it could have something to do with you being so short." Harry answered with a careless shrug.

Aurora's mock glare turned into a real one in a blink of an eye, and in another blink of the eye Harry was ducking to avoid a stinging hex.

"**Famous Harry Potter," said Malfoy. "Can't even go into a bookshop without making the front page."**

"**Leave him alone, he didn't want all that!" said Ginny. It was the first time she had spoken in front of Harry. She was glaring at Malfoy.**

"He has that effect on people." Ginny said rolling her eyes.

**"Potter, you've got yourself a girlfriend!" drawled Malfoy. Ginny went scarlet as Ron and Hermione fought their way over, both clutching stacks of Lockhart's books.**

"**Draco, stop." Aurora said her eyes going hard.**

"Please tell me you don't get into a fight." Both Marlene and Lily moaned.

"Of course not." Aurora and Harry answered together. Somehow their response didn't make their mothers feel any better.

"**Oh, it's you," said Ron ignoring Aurora, **

"Sorry Rora." Ron chuckled ignoring the glare his friend sent his way.

**looking at Malfoy as if he were something unpleasant on the sole of his shoe. "Bet you're surprised to see Harry here, eh?"**

"**Not as surprised as I am to see you in a shop, Weasley," retorted Malfoy. "I suppose your parents will go hungry for a month to pay for all those."**

"I really hate that boy." Alice said with a deep frown.

Aurora shifted uncomfortably; she wished they could meet the Draco from the future so that they could see how much he had changed. He was a better man and he didn't deserve to be judged for his past any more then Severus did.

"**Would you shut up Draco." Aurora's voice sounded coming from behind Malfoy a frown on her face.**

**Ron went as red as Ginny. He dropped his books into the cauldron, too, and started toward Malfoy, but Harry and Hermione grabbed the back of his jacket while Aurora pulled Malfoy back by his arm. **

"If I had a Gallon for every time I had to stop Draco from fighting you guys I would be rich." Aurora said with a sigh.

"You're already rich Rora." Neville reminded the girl with a smile.

"Whatever."

**"Ron!" said Mr. Weasley, struggling over with Fred and George. "What are you doing? It's too crowded in here, let's go outside."**

"**Well, well, well — Arthur Weasley."**

**It was Mr. Malfoy. He stood with his hand on Draco's shoulder, sneering in just the same way.**

"Like father like son." Sirius sneered hatefully.

"**Lucius," said Mr. Weasley, nodding coldly.**

"**Busy time at the Ministry, I hear," said Mr. Malfoy. "All those raids… I hope they're paying you overtime?"**

**He reached into Ginny's cauldron and extracted, from amid the glossy Lockhart books, a very old, very battered copy of A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration.**

Ginny shivered at this and closed her eyes tightly. How many times had she replayed that day trying to figure out when it all went wrong, how her year went from excitement from going to Hogwart and meeting Harry Potter to a nightmare she couldn't wake up from?

Harry sensing Ginny's pain pulled her to his side and whispered so only she could hear, "Relax, I promise nothing like this will happen to you again, not if I can help it."

"**Obviously not," Mr. Malfoy said. "Dear me, what's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?"**

"You should look in the mirror if you want to see a disgrace to the name of wizard." James snarled hatefully. The Weasley family had been nothing but kind to his son, and for that they will always have his loyalty.

**Mr. Weasley flushed darker than either Ron or Ginny.**

"**We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy," he said.**

"**Clearly," said Mr. Malfoy, his pale eyes straying to Mr. and Mrs. Granger, who were watching apprehensively. "The company you keep, Weasley… and I thought your family could sink no lower."**

Hermione glared at the book at this comment, she hadn't notice it at the time too busy trying to hold Ron back.

**There was a thud of metal as Ginny's cauldron went flying; Mr. Weasley had thrown himself at Mr. Malfoy, knocking him backward into a bookshelf. **

"Go Arthur!"

"Kick his ass!"

"I thought you said there would be no fighting." Marlene asked her daughter and Godson completely ignoring the men who were encouraging a fight that had already happened.

"No we said that _we_ would be fight… we didn't say anything about Mr. Weasley." Harry answered with a small smile before pulling Ginny as close as he could without pulling her onto his lap. He knew what was coming next.

**Dozens of heavy spellbooks came thundering down on all their heads; there was a yell of, "Get him, Dad!" from Fred or George; Mrs. Weasley was shrieking, "No, Arthur, no!"; the crowd stampeded backward, knocking more shelves over; "Gentlemen, please — please!" cried the assistant, and then, louder than all —**

"**Break it up, there, gents, break it up —"**

"Oh come on it was just getting good." Sirius and James complained.

"How would you know?" Alice asked shaking her head at the two boys.

"Because we just do." They answered simply.

**Hagrid was wading toward them through the sea of books. In an instant he had pulled Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy apart. **

**Mr. Weasley had a cut lip and Mr. Malfoy had been hit in the eye by an Encyclopedia of Toadstools. He was still holding Ginny's old Transfiguration book. He thrust it at her, his eyes glittering with malice.**

"**Here, girl — take your book — it's the best your father can give you —" Pulling himself out of Hagrid's grip he beckoned to Draco and swept from the shop.**

Ron shot a worried look towards his sister; he knew how hard this must be for her, as did all of her friends.

"It's alright Ginny, he can't hurt you now." Aurora whispered so that only Ginny and Harry could hear.

"**I-I'm sorry… I have to go," Aurora said miserably, "see you at school." She added to Harry, Ron, and Hermione before following the Malfoy's out of the shop. **

"That day was not fun in the Malfoy home." Aurora said more loudly trying distract attention from Ginny.

"Was it bad?" Marlene asked looking a little worried.

"No more than usual." Aurora answered with a shrug.

"That doesn't really make us feel better." Sirius said with his eyes narrowed.

"Sorry."

"**Yeh should've ignored him, Arthur," said Hagrid, almost lifting Mr. Weasley off his feet as he straightened his robes. "Rotten ter the core, the whole family, everyone knows that — no Malfoy's worth listenin' ter — bad blood, that's what it is — come on now — let's get outta here."**

"That's not really fair," Regulus said earning a thankful look from his niece "I mean people say that about our family but look at Sirius. He has discarded everything about our family, and yet to treat him like a deatheater just because his name is Black isn't right. Everyone should have the right to prove themselves, for better or worse."

"… I didn't know you felt like that." Sirius said sounding surprised.

"You don't know a lot about me Sirius." Regulus responded sounding indifferent.

'And maybe that should change.' Sirius thought looking at his baby brother with new eyes.

**The assistant looked as though he wanted to stop them leaving, but he barely came up to Hagrid's waist and seemed to think better of it. They hurried up the street, the Grangers shaking with fright and Mrs. Weasley beside herself with fury.**

"**A fine example to set for your children… brawling in public… what Gilderoy Lockhart must've thought —"**

"Who cares?" Severus said rolling his eyes.

"No one." Frank answered simply.

"**He was pleased," said Fred. "Didn't you hear him as we were leaving? He was asking that bloke from the Daily Prophet if he'd be able to work the fight into his report — said it was all publicity —"**

**But it was a subdued group that headed back to the fireside in the Leaky Cauldron, where Harry, the Weasleys, and all their shopping would be traveling back to the Burrow using Floo powder. They said good-bye to the Grangers, who were leaving the pub for the Muggle street on the other side; Mr. Weasley started to ask them how bus stops worked, but stopped quickly at the look on Mrs. Weasley's face.**

**Harry took off his glasses and put them safely in his pocket before helping himself to Floo powder. It definitely wasn't his favorite way to travel.**

"That was the end of the chapter." Lily said taking a sigh glad she was done. In a move that surprised everyone she then turned and gave James a very long kiss completely ignoring the cat call and whistling coming from their friends.

"I'm sorry about I said." Lily whispered so only James could hear and giving him another kiss before he could answer.

"You are _so_ forgiven." James said staring at Lily with nothing but love in his eyes.

"Alright then… can we move on?" Harry asked looking at his parents with a large smile.

"Yes." Marlene answered taking the book from where Lily had dropped it with a smile. "It's my turn now. The name of the chapter is **The Whomping Willow.**"

**Since it's not yet midnight I can still say Happy Easter! I wanted to update today so I didn't spend much time editing this chapter so sorry for any mistakes that may have made this hard to read. **

**Until next time my friends…. Review and thank you for all the reviews I have already gotten you guys are awesome! **

***I don't know how long ago the war against Grindelwald was so I put sixty years in the past to be safe… I mean Tom Riddle was in Hogwarts fifty years ago so Grindelwald had to have started gaining power a few years earlier right? If I got that wrong please tell me so I can fix it. Thanks.**


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